Speed of Change
by Naomi S. Goldson
Summary: Hermione stepped in just in time to save Fred during the Battle of Hogwarts. Now, a month later, a marriage law is passed and Fred and Hermione have been matched. Will they learn to love each other? R
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

I threw a jinx at the Death Eaters down the corridor, grinning at Percy and Fred as they chattered.

"You're joking, Perce!" roared Fred, obviously delighted by this. The force of my spell caused me to step back a bit and I found myself up against the wall. "I don't think I've heard you joke since –"

The conversation was cut short by a deafening explosion. A chunk of rock hit the side of my head and I let out a quiet yelp. My hair felt wet and the world spun around me for a moment before steadying somewhat. I looked over in time to see a huge slab of stone from the wall begin to fall right to where Fred was standing, a smile still on his face, though slightly faded as a touch of confusion and fright had joined it. I flew forward, colliding with Fred's side and knocking him out of the way just in time for it to hit my leg. My knee collapsed and a bolt of sharp pain shot through me. I let out a strangled cry as I collapsed, half of my leg stuck beneath the enormous rock. Fred let out a stream of loud curses as he hit the floor.

"What was that about, Granger?" he asked angrily, coughing as he breathed in the dust that surrounded us, clouding my vision.

"Hermione? Where are you?" Ron called from somewhere down the hall a bit.

"Is everyone okay?" Harry asked worriedly from, judging by his voice, somewhere near Ron.

"Fred! Are you alright?" Percy questioned.

"Gerroff me, Perce, I'm fine," Fred snapped. "Oi, Granger, why'd you do that?"

I looked around to see his form approaching me from a few feet away but my eyes were so clouded by unshed tears that I could hardly make him out. I glanced at the rock and gave a feeble tug on my leg, but found that, beneath my mid-thigh, could move nothing. I could feel myself shaking violently as the pain rushed through me. "I-I'm s-s-sorry," I choked, my words sounding jumbled and almost incoherent.

"You'd better be," Fred mumbled. "Gonna have a huge bruise on my – Merlin, Granger, are you okay?" He bent down beside me, the anger dissipating immediately and was replaced by horror and worry.

"N-no," I replied through gritted teeth. "G-get the rock o-off m-m-me b-before I end up a s-saint l-like G-george." I offered a weak smile. Fred seemed amazed that I had attempted at humor in this situation and allowed the tiniest of smiles to grace his lips before trying to move the rock. I sucked in a breath, repressing the urge to scream in pain.

"I don't think I can move it on my own," Fred said, "and I dropped my wand."

"Fred? Hermione?" Percy appeared above me, looking flushed. He quickly saw the rock and his eyes widened. He immediately bent down and said, "I'll try to get it off." He gave a slight push and pain coursed through me. I grabbed the nearest thing, which happened to be Fred's hand, and squeezed it tightly. He looked down in surprise, but allowed me to hold on as together, he (with only one hand) and Percy rolled the rock off.

"Hermione?" Ron sounded nearer, but my head was spinning and I felt as if allowing the darkness that edged my vision to take over wouldn't be a bad idea, so I found myself unable to locate him. I closed my eyes and lifted my hand that was not grasping Fred's in a death grip to my head to feel the side that had been hit and it came away wet, sticky, and, as I saw through my eyelashes, crimson. I spared a glance at my leg and almost immediately regretted it. It was almost sickening. It was twisted almost backwards and the pants leg had been ripped. My skin had been torn up and blood was everywhere, pooling around me. The muscles and bone were visible in the mess, though the latter was crushed and splintered. I closed my eyes again. "Oh Merlin," Ron exclaimed. "What happened?"

"What d'you think?" Fred snapped. I felt Fred's hand leave mine and two strong arms pick me up. "I'll take her to the Great Hall."

"I can do it," Ron said and I felt two more arms around my other side.

"I'll be fine," Fred said and the second pair of arms vanished as the first person stepped backwards.

"You should help Harry, Ron," Percy said.

"I can't leave Hermione!" Ron said angrily.

"Yes, you can go. Fred will take care of her," Percy said. "He's not an idiot."

"Fred will hurt her," Ron growled.

"Why would he do that?" Percy asked.

"He doesn't care," Ron replied and the second pair of arms was back.

"I care, you moron," Fred snapped, and I felt the first person, who I assumed must be Fred, step further back.

"No you don't!"

"Go, Ron," I said, opening my eyes and looking at Ron. "Help Harry. 'm fine."

Ron looked pained, but turned and left. I leaned my head against Fred's chest. "Here's your wand," Percy said, stuffing Fred's wand into his pocket. "Hurry."

Fred began to run down the corridors, though I could hardly tell we were moving. He was careful not to jostle me about, which I was grateful for. "Hold on, Granger," he murmured. "We're almost there, just hold on."

"Thank you, Fred," I said, trying my hardest to pronounce everything correctly through the haze.

"For what?" he asked. "You saved me. I owe you my life. I should be the one thanking you until the day I die."

"Laughing," I replied. "Made things… less painful." My head spun painfully and I forced my eyes open and tilted my head back. My eyes found his bright blue ones, now clouded with worry and fear. The rest of my vision was black – it was as if a pair of eyes sat lonely in the darkness. "Caring." I closed my eyes again and, too tired to fight, allowed the darkness to take over me.

When I came to, I felt nauseous and, if it was possible, dizzier than before. I squeezed my eyes shut more tightly, as if that act might ease my discomfort. I opened my eyes slowly after a moment and saw a hook-nosed witch staring at me.

"Drink this. It kills the pain." She handed me a cup and left. I looked at it, wrinkling my nose at the disgusting smell of the purple liquid and downed it as quickly as possible.

The witch showed up again a few minutes later with another potion, though this one smelled worse than the first and was a sickening green color.

"This helps you recover more quickly," she said, though for some reason I couldn't figure out, she sounded reluctant. She hesitated before handing it to me, glared the tiniest bit, and then left again. Confused, I drank the potion and set the cup down beside the other one, which I had placed on the side table. It was hardly five minutes later when I could hear familiar voices outside the door.

"Room 18… Where is room 18? I swear, if I don't find it soon, I'm going to kill someone!"

"Calm down, we'll find it. It's got to be around here somewhere."

"This hospital is the most ridiculous place I have ever been in!"

"And you always say I'm the irrational one."

"Shut up, Harry."

"I'm just joking, Gin."

"I know you – found it!"

The door slammed open and Ginny stood there, her flaming red hair looking wind-tossed and her face flushed. "Hermione!" she cried, running forward and squishing me in a hug.

"Don't kill her, Gin, she just woke up," said Harry, entering behind her and shutting the door behind him. He held a small baby in his arms, a baby with a tuft of bright blue hair. He offered me a one armed hug before stepping back to stand by Ginny, placing his arm around her waist. Hermione sighed, looking at them with a smile. They looked so happy and just like a family. There was no doubt that Harry and Ginny loved each other. Fred was right about them being close enough to be engaged pretty soon. It was clear that they had moving rapidly in their relationship since the end of the war.

"How are you feeling?" Ginny asked concernedly, sounding a lot like her mother.

"Alright," I replied. "They've given me plenty of pain killing potions and some sort of awful healing potion. Besides the fact that I cannot feel my leg, I'm doing splendidly."

"I'm sure you'll be back to normal in a few days," Ginny said.

"They said it'll take a month or two, but I'll be released soon," I said, grimacing. "Don't know why."

Ginny looked upset. "What? They can use magic and potions and such! It shouldn't take that long! I'll be filing a complaint on my way out. When are they letting you out of this blasted place? It smells like… like gross stuff." She wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"That may be me. I've been asleep for a month, I must smell awful," I replied, laughing a bit.

"Nah, they used some cleaning charms and all. Don't worry," Ginny said, waving her hand dismissively. "It's the whole clean smell. I can't stand how sanitary it is."

"Never thought I'd live to see the day when you thought something was too clean," Harry teased.

"Oh hush," Ginny said, slapping his chest lightly, but smiling at him fondly.

"How's Teddy doing?" I asked, pointing at the sleeping child.

"He's doing well. I think he knows that his real family is gone, though. He gets upset when he sees photos or hears their names. Really smart kid," Harry said, giving the boy a sad smile.

"Harry's been a wonderful father to him," Ginny added. "He set up a bedroom for him at Grimmauld Place. It's painted pale blue and has this little crib for him and all these toys and everything. It's amazing."

"I can't wait to see it," I responded.

"I can't wait for you to leave this place," Ginny said. "It'll be amazing to have you back home! And then I have a lot to tell you. And I bet you have a lot to tell me. We haven't really seen each other for a year. I can't believe it! I'm so excited to have you back." She beamed at me and I smiled back, laughing a bit. I hadn't really realized how much I had missed Ginny for the past year, but seeing her now reminded me of the best friend that I had left.

"I'm really excited, too," I said, hoping she saw through my tired and unenthusiastic appearance to how happy I really was. She seemed to, because she grinned and hugged me again. I yawned, despite my best efforts not to, sudden exhaustion rushing over me.

Harry must have noticed because he said, "Gin, I think she's worn out. We can come back tomorrow."

Ginny looked at me, and then said, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize how tired you were. I was so excited I got carried away. We'll come back tomorrow."

"Alright. I'll see you then," I said, too tired to put up any protest.

"We'll see you then," Ginny said, giving me one last hug. Harry hugged me as well before the two of them left, leaving me to fall asleep within two minutes of their departure.

They released me a few days later. I walked uneasily toward the door, my leg stiff and very sore. I wasn't exactly sure where to go from here, seeing as I didn't have a flat I could stay at, my parents were in Australia, and the Burrow, I was sure, was filled to bursting. I assured the healer that rushed out after me that I would be perfectly alright before apparating to Diagon Alley.

People bustled about in the same hurried way that they always did. There was a sense of ease and happiness in the air, so much unlike the environment Diagon Alley had been for the past couple years as the war approached its end. There were several stores which were still boarded up and a couple that seemed to be in a state of disrepair. No one seemed to be bothered by them, though, so I decided not to allow them to dampen my mood.

I had no idea where I had intended to go, so I limped along, just observing the Alley. I found myself outside Gringotts, hoping that they allowed me to make a withdrawal after my break in. I approached a goblin and said, as politely as I could, "Excuse me." He lifted his head to see me and narrowed his eyes.

"Ah, Miss Granger," he said, voice filled with animosity. "What do you need?"

"I would like to make a withdrawal," I said, offering a slight smile.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," he replied.

"Why?" I asked, trying not to let my irritation show.

"You are a security threat," he answered.

"But I need money and it's my vault," I retorted.

"We cannot let you go inside," the goblin said simply, smirking.

"I need to get inside," I said angrily.

"You can't."

"Let me in!"

"No."

"Ah, Galnuk, causing problems for our clients again?" I turned around to see who was speaking and found myself facing Bill Weasley, who grinned cheerfully at me. "Good morning, Hermione. It's nice to see you out of the hospital."

"Hello, Bill," I greeted.

"Galnuk, please explain to me why Hermione, who just happens to be one of the saviors of the entire world, go into her vault?" Bill asked.

"Security threat," Galnuk replied, scowling at Bill.

"It was decided a while ago that it was not a break in for their own good, Galnuk. They broke in to retrieve one of Voldemort's possessions and destroy it so that they could later destroy him. Hermione is a trustworthy girl and your withholding her money is a disgrace," Bill said.

"If you feel so strongly about this, you take her," Galnuk responded.

"Would, but I'm not a goblin, am I? I would be glad to accompany you and Miss Granger so you don't throw her out of the cart halfway there, though," Bill responded, smiling at the goblin, knowing he had won. The goblin glared at him but jumped down and led me and him back.

"Thanks," I said to Bill.

"Not a problem. He did the same thing to Harry and Ron when they came. Just a bit bitter, you know? Thought their enchantments would keep everyone out, but you outsmarted them _and_ took their dragon," Bill said. "I think you three were brilliant, but he disagrees."

When I had gotten a large bag full of galleons, sickles, and knuts, I left the bank, saying goodbye to Bill and promising that I would be at that Sunday's family dinner (he threatened to set Charlie's dragons on me if I wasn't), I returned to the Alley. I wandered aimlessly, ignoring my leg's throbbing and wishing I had a supply of pain killers with me. I stopped for a moment, sitting down on a bench on the side of the path to rest for a moment and allow the pain to settle a bit before continuing on.

"Hermione?"

I looked up to see George and Angelina in front of me. "Oh, hello," I said.

"You're out of the hospital! I'm so glad!" Angelina said, giving me a hug. I hugged her back, confused by her sudden warmth towards me. I had hardly spoken two words with her in school and once she had graduated, all I heard of her was from George when he spoke of their relationship when I visited the Burrow.

"Uh, yeah, I'm glad I'm out, too," I said.

"Everyone was really worried about you," she said.

"Ron especially," George said, winking. "Got annoying, actually. It was all he talked about. You, how you kissed him in the battle, you, how afraid he was, you…"

"Really?" I said hopefully. Maybe Ron would finally pluck up the courage to ask me out after this.

"Of course," George said, "Fred was pretty freaked, too. Felt awful that you'd saved him then went into a coma."

"Oh," I said.

"Alicia managed to pull him out of his funk a bit, though," George said. "Thank goodness."

"I never thought those two would end up together," Angelina commented. "They seem so… different. I mean, really. Other than Quidditch, what similarities do they have?"

"None, really," George replied. "But two people don't have to be similar to have a great relationship."

"Of course not," Angelina said, smiling at him. "Hermione, have you had lunch yet?"

"Uh, no," I admitted. "All I've done since getting out is visit Gringotts. It took a while because the goblin didn't like me. Apparently they don't appreciate people breaking in to their vaults."

Angelina and George laughed. "I wonder why," George said. "Why don't you come with Angie and me to lunch? We were just going to stop over at the Leaky Cauldron. Just a quick break because Fred and Lee are on their own at the shop and there's a big crowd today."

"Are you sure?" I said, not wanting to impose if they were having a date.

"Of course," Angelina said. "Come on, it'll be fun."

"Alright," I conceded, standing up and limping alongside them. "Thanks for inviting me."

"I was planning on dragging you out sometime after you got out of the hospital," Angelina said, "so meeting you here just now was perfect timing."

"You were?" I said, surprised.

"I know you and I never really knew each other or anything," Angelina said, "but you're a great friend of all the Weasleys, you saved Fred, and you seem like a great person. I wanted to at least try to get to know you. Who knows? Maybe we'll be best friend."

"Oh," I said, feeling a bit awkward, but smiling at her. We found a table in the corner of the pub and sat down. George stood up again though, saying he would go get the food.

"I hope you don't mind being dragged over here," Angelina said, suddenly looking concerned.

"Oh no, of course not," I said quickly. "It's just that I don't get invited with people very often."

"Why not?" Angelina asked, eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

"People tend to see me as the annoying know-it-all sidekick of Harry Potter," I replied. "I usually get invited places because Harry and Ron are, not because someone thought that I seemed like a person they might want to know."

"Those people are stupid," Angelina said, waving her hand. "You're your own person, and you aren't annoying, nor are you a know-it-all, though you are pretty smart and I'm a bit jealous of that."

"Thanks," I said quietly.

"Between you and me, I'd prefer to hang out with you rather then Harry and Ron," Angelina said. "They're a bit too… I'm not sure. Childish? Too overly emotional to be boys? I'm not sure, maybe they're just guys, but you seem to be a much better person to spend time with if these few minutes are anything to judge by."

"Thanks," I said again. "So, how long have you and George actually been together? I know he's liked you for forever because he used to talk about you when he thought no one but Fred was listening at the Burrow, but the house is too small to hide much."

"George finally plucked up the courage to ask me out last summer," Angelina said, smiling happily. "Can I trust you to keep a secret?"

"Of course," I said.

She lifted her left hand and placed it on the table. "He asked me to marry him yesterday," she said, looking incredibly excited as she said this.

"Oh, congratulations!" I said excitedly, looking at the large diamond ring on her finger. "It's a beautiful ring."

"I know, right? I knew there was a good reason I chose him," Angelina said as George came back to the table with three butterbeers and three servings of fish and chips.

"And what might this good reason be?" George asked, setting the food down. "My amazing good looks? Or is it my astonishingly funny sense of humor? Or my enormous brain?"

"Your good taste in engagement rings, more like," Angelina said, offering him a kiss as he sat down.

"Only likes me for my money. You hear this, Hermione?" George shook his head. "I wasn't sure what you liked, but this is what Angie and I always get so I got it for you, too. Hope you don't mind."

"Oh, this is great," I replied. "I love fish and chips."

"Good," George said happily. "So, she told you our wonderful news."

"I'm really happy for you two," I said, beaming at the couple.

"Don't tell anyone, though," George said. "We haven't told anyone else except Fred. We're going to make an announcement at dinner on Sunday, so tomorrow. You'll be there, right?"

"Yeah, Bill told me I had to be or I would have a band of angry dragons on my tail," I replied.

"Great!" George said. "Mum will be ecstatic. She's been really upset that you haven't been around."

"Your being in Saint Mungo's seriously put a damper on the spirit in the house," Angelina said.

"You're going to be staying at the Burrow, right?" George said. "Ginny will be ballistic if you don't. She's been almost as crazy as Ron."

"I haven't really thought about it," I replied. "If everyone's back at the Burrow, I don't think there'll be room."

"There's room, don't worry about it," Angelina said. "We'll apparate over with you after this so we can make sure Molly doesn't kill you with her hugs."

"Alright," I said, smiling. The rest of the lunch passed without much more excitement. When we left and apparated outside the Burrow, I felt sudden apprehension. "I don't know if I want to impose."

"It's not imposing. It's a favor. Mum will be crazy if you don't stay," George replied.

"George? Is that you?" Mrs. Weasley came out of the Burrow wearing an apron covered in flour. "Oh, Hermione!" She ran forward and gave me a hug.

"Don't kill her, mum," George said, chuckling.

Mrs. Weasley stepped back. "It's wonderful to see you, dear. You look so much better then you did before," she said. "Are you going to stay with us? I know Ginny would love if you did."

"If I could, that would be great," I said, smiling.

"Of course you can, don't be silly, dear," Mrs. Weasley said.

"We have to go now, mum," George said.

"Thank you for dropping by. Are you sure you don't want some pie before you go?" she asked. "It's lovely to see you as well, Angelina."

"I have to get to work," George said regretfully.

"I do, too, or I would love to. You make the best pies," Angelina said.

"Thank you, dear," Mrs. Weasley said fondly. "I'll see you two at dinner tomorrow then."

"Bye, mum," George said before they apparated away.

"Come inside, I'll get you some pie. It just finished cooling, so it should be perfect just about now. Ginny's home now as well, so she should be down in a moment for some as well. Harry and Ron are away for the day and will be back tomorrow morning. Charlie, Percy, and Arthur are working now. It's only us women here today," she said happily, leading me inside. Ginny came running down the steps a minute later and, when she saw me, she squealed.

"Hermione! You're here!" she cried, running forward to hug me.

"Hey, Ginny," I said, smiling.

"Why didn't you tell me you were getting released?" she asked, her face flushed.

"I didn't know until today," I replied. "I just got out this morning."

"You're staying here, right?" Ginny said.

"Yeah," I said.

"Great!" she said, sitting down and taking a big bite of the pie Mrs. Weasley had just set before her. I smiled and took a bite of my pie, glad that even after my month long absence from life, they still seemed to have a place for me in their family.

**A/N: So, I wasn't intending on starting a story before I finish my other one, but I really liked this idea for some reason and I didn't feel like letting it sit in the deep recesses of my document folders and become covered in dust and sadness and all that. So, yeah. I liked the idea – go ahead and hate it if you will, but whatever. I'm not abandoning my other story! I'm just having writer's block when it comes to it.**

**Please read and review? It would make me super super super happy!**

**-Naomi**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter**

"Ginny, Hermione! It's time for dinner!" yelled Mrs. Weasley. Ginny and I stood up from where we had been lazing about in her room.

"Coming, mum!" Ginny yelled back.

"Is it dinner already?" I asked, yawning. "I feel like I just ate lunch."

"How are you not hungry? I'm starving," Ginny said, grinning.

"Never said I wasn't hungry," I replied, grinning back. She laughed and ran downstairs. I followed somewhat slower because my leg felt especially stiff after sitting around for a good four hours. The entire Weasley family (plus Alicia, Harry, and the soon-to-be-Weasley Angelina) sat at the table, waiting for us. Ginny took the seat beside Harry and Ron while I took the seat between Ron and Angelina. Ron smiled at me somewhat shyly and I smiled back.

"There are some letters here for you all," Mrs. Weasley said, grabbing a pile of letters off the kitchen counter. "I wasn't sure what they were but since so many of you have them and they look similar, I decided to wait until you were all here." She handed the letters out and, as she had aforementioned, everyone but Bill, Fleur, George, Angelina, Mr. Weasley, and herself had received one. I looked at it in confusion, and then opened it up.

_Miss Hermione Jean Granger,_

_We are pleased to inform you that Ministerial Decree 8462 has been passed. Ministerial Decree 8462 will affect all witches and wizards not married or engaged prior to this date between the ages of seventeen and thirty five. Those affected will be required to marry another of the ministry's choosing within the next two months of face consequences. Matches are chosen through a highly accurate compatibility system. Letters containing the name of your spouse-to-be will arrive later this evening. Within two years, couples are expected to conceive one child._

_Hoping you are well,_

_Belinda Notworthy_

_Department of Nuptial Affairs_

I stared in shock. A marriage law? This was impossible. They couldn't do this. There was no way that the ministry could pass something like this! I looked at the others at the table to gage their reactions. Ginny looked close to tears and Harry had an arm around her, trying to comfort her. Ron's face had gone red again, though he looked more angry than sad. His hand found mine once more and I held it tightly. Fred was looking at Alicia worriedly, their hands clasped tightly. Percy had gone very pale as he read his letter. Charlie slammed his letter on the table and glared angrily at the wall opposite him. Bill, Fleur, George, Angelina, Mr., and Mrs. Weasley all, however, looked thoroughly confused. None of them held letters.

"What is it, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked Fred, who sat nearest to her.

"They've passed a marriage law," spat Charlie.

"How can they do this?" cried Ginny, tears welling in her eyes.

"Kingsley can't have been alright with this," Percy whispered.

"A marriage law?" Mr. Weasley said, looking horrified.

"Why didn't you and Angelina get one?" Bill asked, looking at the two.

"Uh, right then. I'd hoped for a bit better of conditions to inform you all, but there's no time better than the present. Angelina has agreed, because of my immense wealth, to be my wife," George said, smiling happily at her. Angelina and I laughed at his reference to lunch the previous day.

"Oh, congratulations, Georgie!" Mrs. Weasley said, hurrying over and hugging him. "When will you have your wedding? We'll have to begin planning immediately. Will it be within these two months? They're going to be rather crazy if everyone's getting married." Her face suddenly fell again. "Poor dears, to be forced to marry."

There was a sudden tapping at the window and a large barn owl fluttered in, several letters attached to its leg. Mrs. Weasley hurried over and retrieved the letters. She handed them out wordlessly and this time, no one opened them.

"I'll go first," Harry finally said in a brave voice, though he looked considerably less confident than he sounded. He ripped it open and pulled out the paper. As he read, he visibly relaxed. "Ginny, I think you're stuck with me," he said, smiling. Ginny screamed in excitement and launched herself at him, knocking the pair to the floor in a tight embrace.

"Ginny, contain yourself," Mrs. Weasley said, though she looked relieved at their match. The two got up, looking a bit flushed. Ginny opened her letter to make sure there wasn't a mistake and found Harry's name on the paper. She grasped his hand, looking at him happily.

"I'll go," Percy volunteered. He opened the letter and looked happy as well. "I'm paired with Audrey."

"Wonderful, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, beaming at him. "I'm sure you two will be more than happy together." Audrey was Percy's girlfriend from what I had gathered the past day, though I hadn't heard much else about her. Seeing Percy, Harry, and Ginny's happiness with their matches made my heart lift hopefully – maybe the ministry paired me with Ron.

"I can go now," Charlie volunteered, though he looked just as angry as he had before. I knew full well that Charlie did not have a girlfriend, nor did he really have any intention to have a serious relationship. This must be a real wrench in his life plans. "Holly Wright. I have no clue who that is."

"I'm sure we'll find out," Mrs. Weasley said sadly, looking at him. "I'm sure she's a lovely girl. If Harry, Ginny, and Percy's matches are anything to go by, you'll be happy with her." Charlie didn't answer, but glared at the letter.

"I can go now," Ron said, looking hopeful as he opened his letter. It quickly gave way to shock. "Luna Lovegood. This can't be right!"

"Luna's a nice enough girl," Mr. Weasley said, patting Ron consolingly. Ron just shot his father a glare and threw the letter angrily at the table. I stared at my letter in horror, knowing that Ron's name wouldn't be on it. Who would they put me with? It could be anybody. I felt like I was going to be sick as I stared at it, but figured it was better now than later. I tore the top open, hands shaking, and removed the letter from the envelope.

_Miss Hermione Jean Granger,_

_Under Ministerial Decree 8462, you have been matched with_

_Mr. Frederick Gideon Weasley_

_You must marry within two months' time and conceive a child within two years of marriage._

_Hoping you are well,_

_Belinda Notworthy_

_Department of Nuptial Affairs_

I could feel my jaw drop and a cold numbness attack me. Fred? That wasn't possible. Fred was going to be with Alicia, there was no doubt about it. They were happy together. Ginny had mentioned Fred seeming close to proposing. The ministry couldn't just ignore that. Why would they put him with me?

"Hermione, dear? Are you alright?" Mrs. Weasley asked. I didn't reply and so she looked over at the remaining couple, Fred and Alicia. The soon-to-be-not-in-a-relationship-with-each-other-because-of-the-ministry pair. They opened their letters and both looked shocked.

"I h-have Oliver," Alicia said shakily, cheeks reddening ever so slightly. I looked at her in confusion, trying to figure out why she didn't seem upset by the news. She just stood up, looking almost as if she was hiding a smile, and said, "I've got to go." Then she turned and left. A loud crack announced that she had apparated away.

"Fred, who do you have?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"I… I got Hermione," Fred said, staring at the letter as though his eyes must have been tricking him. I felt awful as a heartbroken expression flashed across his face. Angelina made a noise of surprise from beside me and looked at my letter.

"Oh sweet Merlin," she whispered. "You and Fred?" Fred suddenly pushed away from the table, looking angry and sad, and left the house, apparating away like Alicia had.

"Poor Fred," Mrs. Weasley said sadly. Dinner passed in uneasy silence. I didn't eat much, finding that my appetite had completely vanished. I found myself feeling more and more sick as the evening progressed and, by the time I had finished picking at my food, the sight of Fred and Alicia's empty chairs made me want to throw up. I stood up and limped out of the room to Ginny's bedroom and sat on my bed.

"Hey, Hermione? Are you okay?" Ginny asked, coming in and closing the door before sitting beside me.

"How can they do this?" I asked. "It's awful, them deciding what we have to do with our lives."

"I know," Ginny said quietly. "We'll try to find a way out of it."

"They can't do this to everyone," I said. "Did you see Fred? He really loved Alicia. Now they're being forced apart by me."

"It isn't you messing it up."

"Yeah, it is," I said. "He had Alicia, who's beautiful, funny, athletic, has a job, isn't a bossy, controlling, know-it-all, and now he's stuck with me. I'm awkward, handicapped, jobless, bossy, controlling, and a know-it-all that has horrendous taste in clothes and constantly looks as if I walked through a wind tunnel."

"You don't look like that, and your taste is perfectly fine," Ginny said. "You're only temporarily handicapped, too, and you'll get a job soon enough. You don't need one, though, since he has plenty of money."

"I'm useless, prudish, and over-bearing. He could do so much better. He had much better until tonight," I said.

"Hermione, stop," Ginny said seriously, forcing my head to be even with hers. "You are being completely ridiculous. _Look at me_." I reluctantly raised my eyes to meet hers. "That isn't true and you know it. Fred's lucky to be matched with you. Honestly, I think there's something off about Alicia and I've always like you better than her. I think you'll find that everyone agrees with me as well. Fred will come 'round. He just needs a bit of time to realize he's got something better than what he had before."

I sighed. "Thanks, Ginny," I said, hugging her tightly. I wasn't sure I believed her, but it was nice to have someone on my side.

When I woke up the next morning, Ginny wasn't in the room. I yawned and sat up, noticing a piece of folded parchment on her bed with my name scrawled on it in Ginny's untidy handwriting. I hobbled over to it and picked it up.

_Hermione,_

_Angelina, Luna, Audrey, and I are meeting at the new café next to Madam Malkin's for lunch at 12. We'd love it if you came!_

_Ginny_

I glanced at the clock and saw it was already 11:30 so, without further delaying the inevitable, I took out a pair of jeans and simple lavender blouse and changed, dragging my brush through my snarled curls as I did so. I looked in the mirror, frowning at my appearance. My hair was just as bushy a disaster as it always was and my face looked even more plain than usual. I contemplated using a bit of make-up but decided against it when I saw it was 11:45. I slipped a pair of black ballet flats on, grabbed my purse, and walked outside, apparating to Diagon Alley.

It was only 11:50, so I took my time walking down the cobble stone path. I paused outside of Flourish and Blotts to gaze at a couple new books for a moment then continued on. I found myself paused a moment longer than I had intended outside of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, watching the crowd of children, parents, and harried workers rush about the store as though they were constantly out of time to do their shopping. A smile lifted the corners of my lips as George took a momentary pause near the window to catch his breath and noticed me standing outside. He waved cheerily and I waved back. He motioned for me to come inside and after a second of hesitation, I walked inside.

"Good morning, Hermione," George greeted me. "How are you this fine day?"

"I'm alright, thanks for asking," I replied. "How are you?"

"Exhausted, but otherwise, I'm splendid," George replied. "Freddie didn't get much sleep last night. Paced about the flat like a nervous racehorse all night. Quite annoying, actually."

"Oh," I said quietly. "I'm sorry."

George looked confused. "What're you sorry for?" he asked.

"Fred and Alicia. I'm sort of messing everything up, aren't I? Fred looked really upset," I replied.

"Don't go blaming yourself about that or you'll make a mess of things," George said seriously. "It isn't your fault and Fred knows that. He's just a bit upset, right? You're a better bird than Alicia anyways."

"Thanks," I said quietly.

"Are you meeting the others for lunch?" George asked.

"Yeah, I'm supposed to be there at twelve," I responded.

"Ah, well you go have fun," George said. "Give Angie my love and tell her that if I don't show up for our date, I died here at the shop."

"Will do," I said, laughing. "I'll see you later."

"Bye, Hermione!" George said, waving as I left the shop and hurried down to the café. I walked in just as my clock said it was twelve and saw Ginny, Angelina, and Luna sitting with a girl I didn't know. Ginny began waving frantically at me and I smiled, walking over and taking the last seat at the table between Ginny and Angelina.

"You made it!" Ginny said excitedly. "I'm so glad!"

"Why on earth would I miss food?" I said jokingly.

"People have done stranger things," Luna pointed out. "There are many people who don't believe in Crumple Horned Snorcacks – I think that's a much odder thing than missing lunch."

"Fair point, Luna," I said, smiling at her.

"I haven't seen you in quite some time, Hermione," Luna said. "It's nice to see you now."

"It's lovely to see you, too," I replied. "I've missed you being around." I glanced at the girl I didn't know, who I assumed must be Audrey.

"Oh, Hermione, this is Audrey," Ginny said, noticing where my gaze fell. "You know, Percy's fiancé."

"Hello, Hermione," Audrey said in a friendly voice. "It's great to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"Really?" I said, surprised.

"Yeah," Audrey said. "You can't believe how much the Weasleys talk about you. For a while after the battle, Percy talked all about you saving Fred. I thought he might leave me at one point to chase his brother's savior." She smiled mischievously and I laughed. It was clear she hadn't really considered this an option, but Percy's gratefulness meant quite a bit to me.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about," I said. "I doubt Percy would ever give you up."

"I know," Audrey said, smiling. "He's a great guy. I'm lucky to have him."

"We're talking about the same Percy, right?" Ginny said, grinning. "I mean, my brother Percy's not exactly the fun-loving guy I thought you would like, Audrey."

"Just because we aren't replicas of each other doesn't mean I can't love him," she said simply.

"That's true," Angelina said. "I mean, you all saw who Lee was dating, right? They got engaged just before the law, just like George and I. Amalia Lindt, Ravenclaw girl who works in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. She's probably the most structured girl I have ever met."

"Oh, I remember her," Luna said, smiling. "She was kind to me in school."

"She was in the year below me," Audrey said, "but, of course, I wasn't in Ravenclaw. I haven't got the brains, you know. Percy's going to have to do all the financing and such because I can't seem to figure those numbers out." Everyone laughed.

"So, Hermione, who are you matched with?" Luna asked suddenly. I bit my lip uncomfortably.

"I'm matched with Fred," I said.

"Oh, really?" Luna said. "Congratulations. I never thought you two would be a match."

"I'm sure they'll be very happy together," Angelina said, leaping to my defense, "just as Alicia will with Oliver."

"Did you notice how… not upset Alicia was by her match?" Ginny asked. "I mean, Fred looked devastated. She looked relieved!"

"She's been acting a bit funny recently," Angelina admitted. "Last time we hung out she talked about Oliver a lot. Sounded like they've been spending a lot of time together."

"Alicia Spinnet?" Audrey asked. "That's who you're talking about, right?"

"Yeah," Ginny said, nodding. Audrey made a face. "What's wrong with her?"

"Oh, my boyfriend in seventh year cheated on me with her even though she was two years younger than us. I don't have a lot of friendly feelings for her, that's all," Audrey said, sounding unlike her normally happy self.

"I'm sorry," Angelina said. "I remember when that happened."

"It's in the past," Audrey said. "I don't care about the guy at all, he was a jerk anyways. I just don't really like her much, that's all. Scored one too many points on me in Quidditch as well." Everyone laughed.

The remainder of the lunch passed by in a bit of a haze and when Ginny finally stood up and announced she had to leave so she could go to a tryout for the Holyhead Harpies, the group began to disband. Luna looked a bit sad as she told us that she had to go finish writing an article for the Quibbler that her father had asked to be finished by the end of the day, and Audrey's lunch break was over. Angelina turned to me and said, "I don't have any plans for today besides stopping in Madam Malkin's to look over some colors for the wedding. Want to come?"

"Oh, sure," I said, smiling at the older girl. We paid for our lunches and left the café, walking into the colorful clothes shop next door.

"We're thinking of getting married in October or November," Angelina said. "It'll be after this big rush in these next two months and I love autumn."

"It's a beautiful time of year," I said, looking at a swath of green fabric that glowed with an unearthly light.

"Yeah," Angelina said, nodding. "And we could use oranges and yellows and reds. They'd match the season and I'm sure they'd look wonderful on everyone."

"That's true," I said, looking at a particularly vibrant shade of yellow. "Please don't go with this, though."

Angelina laughed. "I think the only person who can get away with that color is Luna. She actually looked really pretty at Bill and Fleur's wedding."

"It did look nice," I mused.

"Oh, I like this," Angelina said, staring at a sunset orange fabric.

"That would look amazing on you," I said. "Only problem is that you'll be the one in white."

"That's a slight problem," she said, "but I could make it work. Maybe just a ribbon of this around my waist and George could have a tie this color. Luna and Audrey could wear this, and you could, too… I'm not sure it would work with Ginny's hair, though. Slightly problematic, eh? I could pair it with another color."

"How about this?" I suggested, showing her a dark red fabric. "It fits your theme and this and the orange would look nice. Plus, red looks nice on Ginny."

"Perfect!" Angelina said, grabbing the fabric. "I'm going to tell Madam Malkin that I'm going to need dresses in these colors so she'd best not use it up." She hoisted the two rolls of fabric into her arms and marched to the counter. I laughed at the sight and continued looking through the fabrics. I found a springy green silk fabric and ran my fingers over it.

"This would look brilliant on Ginny, don't you think?" I said as Angelina returned, the fabric gone from her arms. Madam Malkin must have placed it in the back for Angelina.

"It'd look great on you, too, you know," Angelina said. "You should have your bridesmaids wear this. It would be perfect, since you'll have a summer wedding and it's such a happy color."

"Yeah, my wedding," I said quietly.

"It'll be fine, Hermione," Angelina said. "Fred's a good guy."

"I feel like I'm ruining Fred's life by being matched with him," I said tiredly, sitting down on a pile of fabric. Angelina sat beside me.

"You aren't ruining his life," she said seriously. "If anything, you'll be making his life ten times better. Just you wait – he'll be head over heels in love with you within a year. You're an amazing girl."

"What about Alicia?" I asked.

"He'll get over her," Angelina said, waving her hand. "Really, he will. They weren't in a relationship long enough for him to have a lifelong attachment to her."

"He could have had a lifelong attachment if I hadn't butted in," I pointed out.

"You aren't the one butting in. The ministry is," Angelina said. "Now, get your sorry butt off the floor and let's buy ice cream." I laughed as we stood up and left the shop to walk to Florean Fortesque's Ice Cream Parlor. She ordered two enormous ice cream cones and refused to let me pay for mine (or hers) and we walked cheerfully down the Alley, chatting as if we had been friends for ages.

**A/N: Chapter 2… Please review and tell me what you think :)**

**-Naomi**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter…**

**A/N: Dedicated to Vorpalkitty, jellybeanclub, Nao K. Kawasaki, Gingiie666, and iLoveRomance2o11 who all reviewed the first two chapters! Thanks bunches, guys!**

"Hey, Hermione?" Ginny, who had been idly drawing simple sketches of elegant wedding dresses on a sketch pad, set her work aside and looked at me. I set the book I had been reading down to look at her. "I was wondering if you'd like to be my maid of honor for my wedding."

"Really?" I said, surprised and excited by her offer. "Are you sure? I mean, having me limp down the aisle might detract from the beauty of your wedding."

"Because that's what I care about," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "You're my best friend and I want you to be my maid of honor."

I smiled. "I will on one condition," I replied.

"And just what is that?" Ginny asked.

"You have to be my maid of honor," I replied.

"Of course!" Ginny said happily, giving me a huge hug. "Your wedding is going to be amazing. Have you and, uh, Fred talked about it at all?"

I shook my head. "I don't think he really wants to see me right now," I said. "Besides, it's only been one day. I've been pretty, ah, busy today. I mean, lunch and shopping and such."

"Oh, so these past three hours that you've been sitting here and reading a book about history of all horrible things have been, you say, busy?" Ginny teased.

"Oh, reading a book is a very… busy thing to do," I replied, giggling. "I can't talk. All my sentences are dysfunctional."

"That's for sure," Ginny said.

"Thanks for being such a supportive friend," I said, faking injury and sniffing melodramatically. I only succeeded on gagging as I breathed in too quickly and began coughing. Ginny roared in laughter and, as soon as I had gotten over my coughing fit, I laughed as well. As I tried to pull my feet up onto the bed, my toes got caught in the blanket and I leaned over to untangle myself and fell off the mattress onto my face. Ginny just laughed harder, though she seemed to be trying to say something while she gasped for air. My sides hurt from laughing so hard as I lay on my back, sprawled in a very unladylike way on the floor.

"I think I must have missed something," said Luna's dreamy voice from the doorway. I looked over and saw her standing there, observing us through a pair of blue and orange glasses that were far too large for her face. I repressed the urge to keep laughing as I sat up. Ginny, on the other hand, seemed to have no issue with continuing to laugh and roll around on the floor like a puppy.

"Sorry, Luna," I said, gasping for air and climbing back onto my bed.

"H-Hermione's b-being really weird," Ginny said between giggles. Luna floated in and sat on the floor by Ginny, who then sat up and tried to stop her antics. She bit her lip so hard it turned white and she rocked back and forth, apparently full of pent up energy.

"I'm sure she is," Luna said, patting Ginny as though she was a five year old. This only made Ginny's face look more strained as she struggled to contain her giggles.

"Sorry, Luna, Ginny's just being a bit immature today," I said.

"I am not!" Ginny said, faking a look of shock.

"You've been acting rather silly all afternoon, ever since you got back from tryouts," I pointed out. "I forgot to ask! How did they go?"

"I have absolutely no clue," Ginny replied, looking a lot more serious now than she had before. "They said they would send an owl within the week. There were some really good players, though. I have no clue if I'll make it. There's only one spot on their team."

"You're an amazing player, Gin, I'm sure you'll get it," I said encouragingly.

"I'm sure they won't choose someone else over you," Luna said.

"Thanks, guys," Ginny said, smiling. Then she continued, saying, "There are other options if I don't get it anyways. I mean, I'm going to be married within two months and I have to have a kid pretty soon. I could always stay home and make Harry do all the out-of-home work."

"I hardly think you two need to have anyone work," I said. "Have you seen his vault?"

"I guess he does have a lot of money," Ginny said, shrugging indifferently, "but that's not what really matters, is it?"

"Ronald certainly thinks it is," Luna said quietly. "I don't think he's very pleased with our match. But that's alright. I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Ron will come around," Ginny comforted. "He can be a git sometimes, but once he gets back into a sense of normalcy, he's a decent guy."

"Ronald is a perfectly fine person," Luna said. "I don't know anything nothing wrong with him." She stopped, frowning. "Except that he insists that Crumple Horned Snorcacks don't exist." Ginny smiled, but said nothing. "I'm sure he will be a fine husband. I just hope that, for his sake, I can make enough money for him to be happy."

"He doesn't really only care about money," Ginny said. "He's just being difficult right now. Give him a little time and he won't care a jot for it. Family's much more important to him and you'll be part of his family."

"We're getting married June 30, you know," Luna said suddenly. "It's best not to leave it to the last second, we thought. We won't have to worry about the huge rush at the end of July and the first couple days of August."

"I'm sure it will be a beautiful wedding," Ginny said, smiling.

"Yes," Luna said. "I can't find colors that match his hair. It's a difficult task, matching things to his hair. Yours as well, Ginny."

"Red hair can be a pain," Ginny admitted with a laugh, "but I rather like it."

"I think I'm going to go downstairs, alright?" I said, standing up. I didn't want to hear about Ron's wedding plans. I couldn't handle that quite yet. I had been set on the idea of marrying him for so long and, after the Battle at Hogwarts, things seemed to be set in stone. We had kissed, for Merlin's sake. Did that mean nothing to him? He didn't seem to care an ounce that he was paired with Luna and not me. Did he not care? I apparated to Diagon Alley, intending to escape for a while and visit Flourish and Blotts or sit in the Leaky Cauldron. I decided on the latter and walked in, ordered a butterbeer, and sat in a corner, wishing that I could erase the past month.

"Hermione?" I looked up and saw Angelina giving me a funny look. "Are you alright?"

"What?" I said, looking confused. "Oh, I'm fine, yeah." She slid into the chair beside me, giving me a disbelieving look.

"Yeah, you're perfectly alright as you sit in the Leaky Cauldron by yourself looking absolutely miserable," she replied.

"I'm just being stupid," I mumbled. "I just… well, I thought Ron and I had something, you know? Well, I mean, we've known each other for so long and I always thought we would end up together and such. I think most people did. I thought he actually might like me. We kissed during the battle and then now, he acts as if nothing happened. I don't know, I guess that, no matter how much I try to ignore it, I really, really like that idiotic git." I could feel the tears in my eyes and I wiped them away angrily, irritated at myself and how emotional I was getting over him.

"It's okay to be upset, Hermione," Angelina said, putting a comforting arm around me. "You have a good reason to be upset. You've been through a lot."

"You always manage to get me at a bad time, don't you," I mused, laughing a bit. "I don't think you've ever really seen me happy, have you?"

"Ah, I'll see you happy sooner or later," Angelina said, waving her hand dismissively. "I mean, you haven't been to my wedding yet! That's going to be a pretty happy occasion."

I laughed, but was cut off by some people near the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron shouting loudly, "CONGRATULATIONS!" A couple had just walked in hand in hand and was surrounded by a group of loudly talking witches and wizards.

"It's so exciting!" cried one especially exuberant witch. "You two finally get to show people you're a couple after six entire months of hiding!"

"You are so lucky that you found an easy out in that relationship, girl!" said someone else, laughing.

"I'd say they were lucky to be matched together," said another.

"I always knew they were highly compatible!" screamed the first witch. I watched the group, disgusted that the girl in this couple must have been cheating in the relationship she had been in while dating whoever this guy was and that their friends were so accepting and excited about it.

"That's awful," Angelina whispered. "That poor guy." The group dispersed slightly so that the newly engaged couple could be seen. My jaw dropped as I saw a grinning Alicia Spinnet and Oliver Wood walk forward. "Alicia?" Angelina said, staring in horror, shock, and anger. "How could she do that?" Angelina looked over at me and grabbed my arm. "Let's get out of here," she said, leading me to the door. As we neared Alicia and Oliver, however, I wrenched my arm away and stalked over to Alicia.

"How could you do that to him?" I asked her angrily.

"Do what to whom?" Alicia asked in a falsely sweet, innocent voice.

"You know very well what," I snapped. "You are a lying, cheating, stupid bint!"

"Excuse me?" Alicia said, looking offended. "I don't know why you're getting so upset over nothing, Hermione."

"Stop acting like you're innocent. Obviously everyone in this pub knows that you've been cheating on the guy you've been dating with Oliver here for six months thanks to one of your big-mouthed friends," I replied angrily. I could hear my voice getting louder and louder as I spoke, but I didn't care. "Fred doesn't deserve to have a low-life pulling him down. You don't deserve him. You're a selfish, unfeeling -"

"You're one to talk," Alicia snapped. "You're only jealous because you have never had a boyfriend and I've had plenty, and now you're stuck with Fred forever when he'll be mourning his loss of me for the rest of your sorry marriage." She laughed a high, cold sound and smiled malevolently. "He wasn't worth my time anyways, just a silly fling. I mean, he's really not that good looking, not funny, or all around a good guy at all."

Without thinking, I drew my fist back and then slammed it into Alicia's face. She stumbled backwards from the force and nearly fell over. Oliver let an angry cry and went to help her, while several of her friends crowded around them as well.

"Out of my way," Alicia growled, shoving them out of the way and coming back towards me. Her eye was already beginning to swell and looked, to my immense pleasure, rather painful. She punched my jaw and I threw another punch at her, hitting her in the other eye. I felt a strange sense of satisfaction as she fell backwards to the floor. I was about to follow when Angelina grabbed me.

"Hermione, let's get out of here," she said.

"Let me give that good for nothing slag one more hit," I said angrily.

"Her face is already going to be black and blue," Angelina said. "You got her good." She led me out of the shop and down the street. It was only after we were outside of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes that I realized where we were going.

"Why are we going here?" I asked her, trying not to allow her to bring me inside unsuccessfully.

"We need to clean you up a bit before letting you go home or Molly will have a heart attack," Angelina replied. "No offense, but you look like death right now." She brought me inside and to the back of the shop, then up a set of stairs. When we got to the top, Angelina knocked loudly.

"I'm coming, just hold on half a second," grumbled George from inside, opening the door and looking at us rather sleepily. "Angie? What d'you need? Hermione, what happened to you?"

"Hello, George, you don't mind if I use we come in so I can clean up Hermione do you? I'll explain everything when we are comfortably situated," Angelina said, walking in and sitting me on the sofa then disappearing. George shut the door and wandered in as well, stopping at looking at me with a funny expression.

"So, what happened that gave you that nasty cut?" George asked me.

"What cut?" I asked, lifting a hand to my face. Angelina walked in as I did so and knocked my hand away from my face as if I were a child.

"Don't touch it or you might infect it," she scolded. "She got into a bit of a tussle at the Leaky Cauldron."

"Hermione was in a fight?" George looked shocked.

"Fred's not here tonight, correct?" Angelina said, looking around as if George's twin – my fiancé – might hop out from behind a wall panel and scream "GOTCHA!" George shook his head, though, so Angelina continued. "Hermione hasn't been having the best of days and I met up with her in the Leaky Cauldron. When we were sitting there, Alicia and Oliver came in. Apparently they, or the huge group of friends of theirs which was waiting for them, planned an engagement party. We didn't realize it was them at first and were just watching what was going on. Her friends were talking about how she and Oliver had been secretly going out with each other for six months and that this law was an easy way to get out of her other relationship which was, of course, with Fred. We were leaving when Hermione decided to go talk to her. Called her several rather unkind things–"

"She deserved it," I interjected, not about to let Angelina make it seem as if I had been the bad guy in this situation.

"Believe, I know she did," Angelina said. "Alicia said a few things back and it just got ugly. Hermione punched her in the nose after one particular comment and Alicia hit her back. It wouldn't have been bad if not for that huge rock on her hand that she calls an engagement ring."

"Is that why I have a cut?" I said, realizing I sounded rather stupid but not really caring. Angelina nodded.

"Hermione hit her again. It was amazing. Sent her flying out onto the floor. She looked shocked that Hermione could do that – her face was priceless," Angelina concluded. "Honestly, I knew you were tough, Hermione, but that was brilliant!" I smiled weakly.

"It's a good thing you got to Alicia before I did," George said darkly. "If you hadn't gotten her already, I would and she'd be left in a bloody pulp by the end of it."

"I think two black eyes will teach her well enough not to mess with the Weasleys," Angelina replied. "I'm rubbish at healing spells, so this'll have to do. Sorry I can't help more. I rather think you ought to stay here for the night. Coming home past midnight and looking, no offense, like death won't sit well with Molly."

"Mum'll fuss and keep you up all night," George agreed. "You two can both stay here, if you'd like."

"Are you sure that's alright? I don't mean to intrude," I said quietly.

"I could care less. It'd be a favor, actually. This place gives me the creeps when I'm here alone," George said. "I'll fetch some blankets and then you two can go to sleep because if you're feeling even a smallest bit of how tired I am, you must be knackered." He walked off and returned with a pile of blankets, which he placed on the floor before heading back to his room.

"You sleep on the couch," Angelina commanded.

"No, you deserve it," I replied, starting to get up but only succeeding in getting shoved back down again.

"After that fight, you're the one that deserved it," Angelina retorted. I sighed and lay down, too tired to put up much more of a fight. "I hope those black eyes stay for weeks," she said. I chuckled and, moment later, fell fast asleep.

I awoke the following morning to the smell of bacon sizzling merrily on the stove. I glanced at the floor and saw that Angelina was already up, her blankets left heaped on the floor in an untidy pile. I yawned and rolled onto my back and stretched. I strained my ears to hear who was in the kitchen.

"She really was brilliant last night," Angelina was saying.

"I can believe it," George replied. "She's a spitfire. Not someone to mess with. She doesn't normally react so violently, though. Any ideas why she got so physical?"

"Touched a nerve," Angelina answered. "She feels awful about this entire situation with her, Fred, and Alicia. She blames herself and assumes that Fred must as well, even though we all know that's rubbish. She's been having a rough time since Ron's with Luna and doesn't seem to care a jot for her, even after all these years." Angelina's voice had grown cold by the end of her little speech. George made a funny noise.

"Ron's a git," he said irritably. "Doesn't know what he has 'til it's gone. Believe me, one day he's going to look back and regret not making a move. He'll be miserable without her and insanely jealous that Fred will be married to her."

"How's Fred taking this all anyways?"

"So-so. I think he's upset about not being with Alicia, but he'll be glad to be rid of her when he finds out she was cheating on him for six months. I think he's glad it's someone he knows rather than a daft blonde like that Lavender girl Ron dated in school or a complete stranger. To be honest, I think Fred could very easily fall for our little book worm."

"They're going to be adorable together, aren't they?" Angelina's voice had taken on a dreamy quality, not unlike Luna's, as she said this.

"Yeah, but not nearly as cute as you," George said. Angelina laughed a bit and the talking died away. I sat up, feeling as if I had been listening to something I shouldn't have heard. I supposed it wasn't something I shouldn't have heard – I knew most of it already, so why did hearing it from them in this way seem different? I shrugged it off and got up, wobbling over to the kitchen.

"You're awake," Angelina said cheerfully. "Here, I made breakfast because George is pants at cooking."

"Am not!" George said, looking affronted. "I'll have you know I can make three whole meals!"

"Congratulations," Angelina said, rolling her eyes. I just laughed and took the offered plate, eating the food quickly, but being sure to use my manners rather than look like a pig in front of two people who were watching me as if they'd never seen something quite so interesting. I briefly wondered if they thought I'd heard their conversation but shook the thought off.

"I've got to go to the shop now, ladies, so I'll be seeing you some other time," George said, pecking Angelina on the lips and waving merrily. "Au revoir!" he cried dramatically, blowing a kiss melodramatically from beside the door. Then he hurried out of the flat and downstairs.

"He's an odd one," Angelina said, chuckling fondly. "I suppose that's why I love him."

The fireplace suddenly burst into emerald green flames and out stumbled George. I looked over in confusion, as did Angelina, before realizing that it actually wasn't George – it was Fred. I shrunk back in the seat I was in and prayed he wouldn't notice me.

"George? Merlin, we need to clean this fireplace," he said, coughing on the dust he stirred up with his feet as he stepped out.

"Morning, Fred," Angelina called cheerily. Fred looked over in alarm and saw us. An odd expression came over his face as he walked over.

"Er, what are you two doing here?" he asked.

"We spent the night here after being out a bit later than Molly would've liked Hermione to be out," Angelina replied. "We didn't think she'd take it well."

"Why?" Fred asked.

"She doesn't look so bad now, but she looked pretty bad last night," Angelina informed him matter-of-factly. "And her chin was a lot more swollen then than it is now."

"Swollen?" Fred looked at me for a moment before noticing the cut. "How'd you do that?" he asked.

"Er, someone hit me and their ring broke the skin," I replied, shrugging.

"You alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine. I didn't even notice until George pointed it out," I responded.

"Why'd someone hit you?" he questioned.

"Because I hit them," I said, trying to think of a way to change the subject but finding no good ideas. "How was your trip?"

"Who hit you?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter."

"Yeah, it does."

"No, it doesn't."

"Just tell me who did that," he said.

"No," I said firmly.

"I swear, if you don't tell me, I'll… well, just tell me!" Fred said.

"Just tell him, Hermione, he'll find out sooner or later," Angelina said. "I think it's best to hear all of what happened from you rather than me. I'll just let you two talk… I'll see you later, alright, Hermione?" I nodded, not sure how comfortable I felt with being left with Fred. Angelina smiled at us then left, shutting the door with a loud _click._

"Will you tell me who it was?" Fred asked, sitting down and looking, rather than just curious and prying, more concerned than I would have expected.

"Before you chew my head off for who it was, let me explain the entire, story, okay?" I said. "Promise that, however upset you are about who it was that I hit, you won't freak out or anything until I've explained. Please?"

"Sure, I promise," he said, looking confused.

"Really promise me," I said earnestly.

"I promise that I won't freak out until after you finish explaining," he said solemnly.

"It was Alicia," I admitted. For a moment, he looked as if he might break the promise he had just made, but held himself back from screaming.

"Who hit first?" he asked in a carefully steady voice.

"I did," I replied softly. "Let me explain what happened. Please." He sat back in his chair, looking at me expectantly. "I was at the Leaky Cauldron on my own when Angelina showed up. We were sitting and talking and she was trying to cheer me up when Alicia and Oliver came in." A look of hurt flashed across Fred's face. I knew I would have to be very careful about how I presented the rest of the story so as to prevent myself from hurting him too much with the horrid details it included. "We didn't realize it was them at first because they had a bunch of friends there. It was a party of sorts, celebrating their engagement." I paused for a moment to see how he took this. The anger was fading and was being gradually replaced with sadness. Looking at him made me want to just stop so that he didn't have to hear the worst, but I pressed onward. "Their friends were talking to them about the engagement and their relationship. One of them said… well, they said that they were glad they could finally come out and tell people they were involved with each other after six months of hiding it. They also mentioned it was an easy way out of her old relationship." Fred's expression changed from one of sadness to one of heartbroken misery. I could see tears in his eyes and I stopped, allowing him a moment to deal with what I had said.

"Six months," he said after a minute or two of silence. "I dated her for seven months – she was only not dating him at the same times as me for one month."

"I'm really, really sorry, Fred," I said.

"I just… I can't believe that wanted to marry her," he spat, looking angry again. "How could I have been so blind?"

"It wasn't your fault, Fred," I said. "She's an actress. She can make people think whatever she wants them to."

"You hit her first, right?" he repeated.

"Yes," I replied timidly.

"Served her right," he said. He sat with his head in his hands, cursing himself under his breath for several minutes before he looked up at me once more. "Why did you hit her?" he asked quietly.

"She was being horrible," I replied quietly. "Angelina tried to walk out and bring me with her, but I walked over to Alicia when I realized that she was the girl that had been cheating on her boyfriend with her current fiancé. I called her a couple things I probably shouldn't have."

"Like what?" he asked.

"Er, low-life, bint, slag… it wasn't one of my proudest moments," I said, looking down.

"Honestly, I think you should be proud of yourself," Fred said.

"Really?" I said, smiling a bit.

"Yeah," he said. "Why did you hit her, though? It sounds like it was just a bit of a nasty argument."

"She started talking about you," I replied. "She made it sound like you worshipped her and would always be miserable because of her and then called you a waste of time and then kept insulting you. So I punched her."

"Just because she insulted me?" He looked confused.

"I don't like when people insult people that are close to me, and I've known you for years," I replied, feeling a bit embarrassed. "She got me back, though, so I hit her again. She'll have two rather colorful eyes for a while." Fred smiled wanly, and then fell back to staring at his hands with an expression that seemed torn between sadness, anger, and simply being deep in thought. After sitting in this manner for about ten minutes, I stood up. "I think I'll head out now. I'll see you later, I suppose." Fred didn't reply, so I just slipped as quietly as I could out of the flat.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own and all.**

When I arrived at the Burrow, it was oddly quiet. I supposed that, seeing as it was only around nine in the morning, any Weasleys who happened to be awake would probably still be moping about at a snail's pace. As I approached the door, I could hear Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen, bustling about as she usually did. Deciding it might be best if she didn't see me coming into the house (maybe she hadn't noticed I hadn't been here the previous night), I wobbled off a bit and then apparated directly into Ginny's bedroom. Standing before me, looking much larger than I would have ever thought she could, was Ginny. Her hair stood up rather crazily, her hands were on her hips, and she wore a determined frown.

"Where have you been?" she asked, sounding a great deal too much like her mother.

"Er, I was with–"

"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" Ginny continued. "And you'd best be glad I covered for you, or mum would be in a right state! I spent have the night worrying where you could've gone. Just disappeared!"

"I didn't mean –"

"Honestly, Hermione, do you think?" Ginny said. "Luna seemed a bit put out by you just leaving, too. And-"

"Luna was part of the reason I left," I said, cutting her off as she had done to me. Ginny blinked in surprise and stopped speaking. I let out a small sigh before continuing. "You would think I'd be able to sit through a conversation about her and Ron's wedding plans. After all, it isn't like I was in a relationship with him before this. But I couldn't handle it, Gin. At least not right then. So I went off to the Leaky Cauldron, just so I could be on my own for a bit."

"I'm sorry," Ginny said, suddenly sobered by what I had said. "Were you there all night then?"

"Well… not exactly," I said rather awkwardly, sitting down on the edge of my bed. "Angelina found me there and we talked for a bit. Then, Alicia and Oliver showed up and we found out that… well, she was cheating on Fred with Oliver for months. So I went over and did some things I probably shouldn't have… really shouldn't have, actually."

"She was cheating on him for months?" Ginny said, looking horrified.

"Yeah. I, er, punched her in the eye, so then she punched me and the enormous rock on her hand that she calls a ring cut my chin open. I punched her again and called her several things that I really am ashamed of, and then Angelina dragged me out," I explained hurriedly.

"You punched her?" Ginny said after a moment's pause, gaping at me, her expression a mix of anger, surprise, and admiration.

"Yeah," I said, looking down at the floor, saddening wished I hadn't disclosed this information.

"Knew you had it in you," Ginny said, grinning and lightly shoving my shoulder. "But where did you two go after that?"

"She brought me to the twins' flat," I said quietly. "They cleaned up my cut and made me stay the night there. It was only me, Angie, and George, though. But Fred got back in the morning and I had to explain everything."

"How did he react?" Ginny replied.

"He isn't very happy," I said.

"Well that was to be assumed," Ginny said. "He just found out his girlfriend was cheating on him. I mean, how did he react to you?"

"It was awkward," I replied. "He seemed to be fine with me attacking her and all, but he wasn't exactly thrilled or anything, you know?"

"He will be," Ginny said, nodding.

"Uh-huh, sure," I said sarcastically. "He probably hates me more than ever."

"Give him a day or so to mull things over. He needs a bit of time. Sometimes Fred's a bit… slow on the uptake, you know?" Ginny said encouragingly. "In just a couple days, you two will be buddy-buddy, sitting at the table planning your fabulous wedding. Just don't pick July 3 – that's my day. And June 30 is taken. Any other day is fine to my knowledge."

I smiled wanly at her. "Whatever you say, Gin."

Time passed rather uneventfully. Harry and Ron had been accepted for Auror training and were at the Ministry far more often than either liked. Luna seemed to see no reason to hang around the Burrow and stayed at her house, though I wasn't exactly disappointed by the loss of her company at the present time. Mr. Weasley had been working more and more on cleaning up the community after the war, as was Charlie. Fleur rarely left Shell Cottage and Bill only came by occasionally to say hello. Percy and Audrey spent their time together or working. Angelina had been offered a tryout for a Quidditch team (she was yet to tell me which, though) and had been practicing day in and day out since then. George was either working in the shop or playing with Angelina. Ginny had begun her wedding preparations with enthusiasm and spent the majority of each day in Diagon Alley, shopping and ogling expensive items. Mrs. Weasley was often with her and, though I went with them at first, I usually left after a little because my leg was hurting. I often just sat at home, reading or staring at the ceiling and wishing I had something better to do. Fred had been avoiding me like the plague and, when contact was forced, he was cold and distant. I made a point of staying on the opposite side of the room when he was there so I wouldn't bother him anymore than I already was. I was a bit hurt by his attitude toward me, but I understood why he acted that way and let him go on with it. I confided this only with Ginny, feeling as if she was my sole confident in matters. She always smiled, patted my back, and assured me things would improve, though I never quite believed her.

On Sunday afternoon in mid-June, I found myself sitting at the dining room table, completely alone in the Burrow with a plateful of breakfast foods I had yet to touch. I had been sitting for quite some time, though just how long I had no idea. I had awoken to silence and, besides any noise I made, it had stayed that way. The house seemed eerie and unnatural this way and I found it disconcerting.

I had actually begun to take a bite when a loud crack broke the stillness. My head shot up and I looked around in alarm, trying to figure out what it had been. It sounded like someone had apparated into the house, but I couldn't hear anyone. Then, loud footsteps could be heard and Fred Weasley walked into the kitchen, looking harried and tired. I shrank back a bit.

"Hermione," he said, looking at me.

"Uh, hullo, Fred," I said softly.

He stood there, not saying a word and hardly moving besides breathing rather heavily, for several minutes before abruptly walking forward and sitting in the chair beside me. I blinked in confusion as he did so, but said nothing. "Hermione," he said again, taking a deep breath. "I'm so sorry."

Sorry? I stared at him in confusion, trying to figure out why he was apologizing. "What are you sorry for?" I asked him.

"You're not serious, are you?" he said. "What am I sorry for? I'm sorry for behaving like the biggest prat on the entire planet. I'm sorry for being a terrible fiancé, for being rude and ungentlemanly, for ignoring you, for never saying thank you, for all the stupid things I've done to you since you saved my life."

"You don't have to apologize for those things," I replied. "You had good reasons for those things. You were upset and I deserved it."

"Deserved it? If there was anyone in the world who didn't deserve that, it would be you. You saved my life! I should be worshiping the ground you walk on. Instead, I ignore you, then I act like you are some alien who deserves estrangement, then I behaved in a manor worthy of a Malfoy. You've been nothing but kind to me and I've been… I don't even know a word bad enough to describe how moronic I have been," Fred said.

"You've been through a lot," I said. "And I only did what anyone else would have when I saved your life."

"Only what anyone else would?" He shook his head. "Hermione, you did more than anyone else did or would have done. Did you see Percy, Ron, or Harry take the blow for me? No. It was you. You saved my life, not them. And as thanks, I treated you in the most repugnant way possible. It's despicable," he spat.

"But-"

"Who else did you see throwing themself under an enormous rock to save my sorry life?" Fred asked me. I opened my mouth, but didn't know how to reply and shut it once more. "Exactly. Now, I really didn't come here to give you a lecture… is there any way you can forgive me for being such an awful person?"

"Of course I forgive you," I said, "but only if you forgive me." Fred looked confused.

"What for?" he asked. I looked at my toes, which were curled up on the floor, the peeling purple nail polish giving them an old, disgusting look.

"All the stupid things I've done. Gotten engaged to you, broken up your relationship, attacked Alicia-"

"Before you go any further, you've got that all wrong, Hermione," Fred said gently. "I'm so thankful that you broke my relationship with Alicia up. And I think it was brilliant that you attacked Alicia. We all know she deserved it. And being engaged to you isn't ruining my life." He put a finger under my chin and lifted my head up so I was looking in his eyes. "Do you really think that?" he asked me. I felt tears pricking my eyes and I looked down again, hating myself for having hormones.

"I am ruining your life," I said. "You have it all – an amazing family, a great job, money, a free spirit. Now you're stuck with bossy, prudish, spoil-sport, boring me for the rest of your life. What sounds better? Option one, or option two? The answer is blatantly obvious."

"And it is, of course, option two," Fred replied. I turned my head to look at him and saw, to my amazement, complete sincerity in his crystal blue eyes.

"W-what?" I stuttered.

"I see absolutely nothing wrong with being married to you," Fred said. "There's nothing wrong with liking to have a bit of control. And you aren't a prudish spoil-sport, you're a girl with high standards who actually has a couple serious bones in her body. There is nothing wrong with you and you should stop acting like you're a terrible person. You're a great person, and I think being married to you will beat being in a messed up relationship or being a bachelor forever."

"Are… are you serious, or are you just joking?" I asked cautiously.

"Why would I joke about that sort of thing?" he asked.

"I don't know… some people like to joke," I replied with a shrug.

"Believe me – I'm not joking about this, even if I do joke a lot," Fred said, smiling at me.

I smiled back, though with somewhat less strength. "Thanks," I said.

"Thank you as well," he said. He sat forward and pulled me into a tight embrace which, after I got over the initial shock, I returned, reveling in the warmth and comfort that the hug brought.

"Hey, Fred?" I said after a minute or so.

"Yeah?" he said.

"We, uh, need to start planning a wedding," I said. "We don't have much time."

"A month and a half to plan an entire wedding…" he mused. "Well, it'll be interesting to say the least. Mum's probably overjoyed."

"With all the weddings?" I said. "Somewhat. The joy is slightly dented by Charlie's refusal to even meet the girl to whom he is affianced, and she was somewhat concerned about how, er, our wedding would go and all."

"Well, she has one less to worry about," he said, smiling. "How does July 12 sound?"

"Well, fine I guess," I said, taken aback by his date of choice. "That's rather soon, isn't it?"

"Why not?" he said. "It's not like I hate the whole marriage and want to wait until the last minute like Charlie will."

"Ah, he'll start planning soon enough," I said. "Mrs. Weasley's wrath will scare him into meeting the girl."

"True, true," Fred said, nodding solemnly. "You know, Hermione, since we're going to be married and all, you ought to call mum something besides 'Mrs. Weasley.' Call her mum."

"Mum?" I said.

"Yeah, she'll love it," he said, beaming at me.

"Alright," I said, laughing a bit. "Mum it is. I'll do my best to remember."

"Don't worry, I'll stand behind her while you're talking and mouth 'mum' the entire time," he said.

"Oh, that'll definitely help," I said, "if I want to offend your mother by laughing the entire time."

"Ah, she's used to things like that, so she won't care," Fred said. "And besides, she'll be so glad you finally called her mum that she'll forget that you have the giggles."

"If you had any idea how odd it is to hear you saying 'the giggles' in a serious voice – well, as serious as you get – you would probably die of laughter," I said, stifling my own mirth.

"I'm sure you find it very amusing," Fred said. "I, however, do not think it is that odd."

"Of course you don't," I said. "You're Fred Weasley. Nothing is odd to you."

"How could you say that?" he said, taking on an expression of melodramatic shock. "I find many things odd! Such as the fact that you still have an untouched plate of food in front of you! And that you think I find nothing odd! Both are very odd!"

"Well, the food is untouched no more," I said, picking up the fork and taking a huge bite.

"Good job, Hermione, you ate an entire bite of food," Fred said in monotone.

"Just gimme a sec," I said, eating the remainder of the food within two minutes. He looked at me and nodded.

"Impressive," he said. "I can make a Weasley of you yet!"

"You've got a month until it's official," I said, taking the plate and fork over to the kitchen sink and putting it down. "Where does your mother keep the blasted sponge?" I muttered, looking around the counter. "Ahh…" I found the sponge behind a stack of plates and grabbed it, dousing it in water and retrieving the soap. I began scrubbing the plate but, to my annoyance, it refused to come clean. I let out a little grunt of irritation and Fred chuckled.

"Having trouble?" he said, coming up behind me and grabbing me around the middle. I gave him a funny look and he flashed an evil grin before tickled me. I shrieked and my legs gave out. He held me up, tickling me mercilessly.

"Stop, stop!" I gasped.

"Stop? Where's the fun in that?" he said, continuing to tickle me. I managed to turn around and take the sponge and wring the soapy water over his head. He spluttered and coughed for a moment before taking a second sponge (how he managed to find a second one was beyond me) and getting the soapy water all over my face and hair.

"Hey!" I yelped, wiping it out of my eyes. I reached into the sink and got a handful of bubbles, rubbing it in his face. He followed suit, and soon we were covered in bubbles and laughing so hard it was difficult to breathe. I buried my face in his chest, seeing as it was the only place I could put my head from the position I was it. It was like this that Mrs. Weasley found us.

"Well, I see you two have finally adjusted to each other." I let out a squeak and stumbled backwards and Fred sprang away. I wobbled as my injured leg supported me and then collapsed, leaving my upper body submerged in the soapy water that filled the sink.

"Hullo, mum," Fred said, stifling a laugh and helping me out of the mess.

"Sorry," I mumbled as I shook the soap off of myself.

"What have you two been doing?" Mrs. Weasley asked, looking between us rather suspiciously.

"Talking," I replied somewhat truthfully.

"That certainly looked like talking." She gave me a look, the intent of which I could not decipher, and then pulled out her wand. She waved it and the water immediately was gone, leaving me warm and dry.

"There were some issues with the sink that we had to resolve," Fred added. "It's fixed now."

"I see," she said. "Well, anyway, it's wonderful that you two seem to be on speaking terms. We must begin planning your wedding at once-"

"July 12," I interjected. "That's the date we chose."

Mrs. Weasley looked surprised by this. "Alright, that sounds perfect. You two just run along and I'll mark that on the calendar."

She put down the bags she was carrying on the table and shooed us out of the kitchen. I hobbled through the doorway and sat down heavily on the sofa. After a couple minutes of silence, I said, "I meant to ask… why did you look so, ah, desperate when you arrived?"

"Interesting question," replied Fred. "I don't really have an answer to that. For some reason, it took me until this morning to realize how ridiculous I've been and I felt as if it had to be fixed as much as I could fix it as quickly as I could manage. So I ran out of the shop and down the alley and had nearly gotten to Muggle London before I remembered that I could apparate." I bit my lip an attempt to not laugh, but found my endeavor unsuccessful, as a moment later I found myself doubled over, clutching my sides and laughing. "It isn't that funny," he protested weakly, but seconds later, he was laughing, too.

"You were going to run from London to the Burrow?" I said, finally regaining a bit of composure.

"I wasn't thinking rationally," Fred said, offering a half smile.

"Well, that's rather obvious, isn't it?" I responded, grinning at him. He chuckled.

"You know, you aren't even half as boring as you think you are," Fred said suddenly. "No, you aren't even close to half."

"Yeah, sure," I scoffed. "You're just saying that to be nice."

"I'm being completely honest here," Fred said. "You're not boring, Hermione."

"Thanks, Fred," I said. "You aren't too bad yourself, you know."

"Thank you for finally acknowledging what the world recognizes as a fact," Fred said. "We all know that I'm wonderful!" I laughed as he struck a pose and Mrs. Weasley walked in.

"Oh dear, I'm very sorry, Hermione," she said, giving Fred's model-like pose a critical look. "If you ever need to escape him, you're always welcome here. Or you can always send him away for a while. I rather doubt the Ministry was thinking when they paired you two poor dears."

"Er, thanks, Mrs. Weasley," I said, not exactly sure how to respond.

"You said July 12, correct?" she said.

"Yeah," Fred said. "Is there a problem with that date?"

"Oh, nothing at all, I just wanted to make sure I was remembering the right day," Mrs. Weasley said. Fred nudged me in the side and I looked at him, only to see him mouthing 'mum' at me with mischievous grin. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Mrs. Weasley.

"That's exactly right, mum," I said hurriedly before turning back to Fred, blushing for some reason that I couldn't place. There was a beat of silence, interrupted only by Fred's (nearly) silent sniggering.

"What did you say, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked, approaching me. I turned back to look at her and offered a weak smile.

"I said that was right, mum," I repeated. Mrs. Weasley grabbed me and hugged me tightly around the neck, crying loudly.

"Hermione, dear!" she said between sobs. "I'm so glad! Thank you!" I shot a dark look at Fred from between his mother's arms, but he didn't notice because he was too busy laughing as quietly as possible behind his mother. Mrs. Weasley stepped back, wiping the tears from her face and beaming at me. "Thank you, Hermione, dear. I'm going to need to talk with you two soon about your wedding plans. Colors, time, place, and all the other details."

"Simple, please," I said. "And I think having it here would be fine."

"In the back, like Bill's," Fred confirmed, nodding and wiping his own tears of mirth away. "I vote for magenta and yellow."

"No," I said quickly. "Not magenta and yellow."

"Those are great colors, Hermione," Fred protested.

"They clash horribly!" I objected.

"They look perfect together," Fred argued.

"They most certainly do not," I said with a sense of finality. "How about light blue and silver?"

"That's too… no," Fred said, wrinkling his nose.

"I think that they would be nice colors," I said.

"And I think magenta and yellow would be better," Fred said.

"Perhaps I spoke too soon about adjusting," Mrs. Weasley said quietly, looking between us with a concerned expression. I glanced back at Fred and burst out laughing, as did he. Mrs. Weasley shook her head and walked away.

At least I could be sure my life would never be dull.

**A/N: Sorry about how long it took me to finish this. What with school being crazy as the year ended and the beginning of an awesome summer break, I've been completely without free time. Sorry :(**

**Lots of thank yous to iLoveRomance2o11, Gingiie666, Diz31, 93 Diagon Alley, Pocky Pox, ArtimasDD, Nissy Padfoot, Elma Trisara, and Cassie-D 101 for reviewing chapter 3! Thank you to all the awesome people who followed/favorite this story or follow/favorited me. You have no clue how much it means to me!**

**Please review if you read. Any feedback is welcome, be it good or bad.**

**-Naomi**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I still do not own this stuff…**

"Hermione? Would you mind coming in here for a moment?" Mrs. Weasley called. I swung my legs off the sofa where I had been resting quietly since Fred had left around noon and went to the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was working on dinner already, even though it was hardly four o'clock in the afternoon, and the smell made me want to sing her praises. Instead, I just sat down at the table.

"Do you need something, Mrs. We – I mean, mum?" I asked her, looking longingly at a basket of freshly baked rolls on the counter. She turned to look at me and seemed to notice where I was watching and handed me a roll, which I took and held in my hands, smiling. "Thank you."

Mrs. Weasley smiled. "I just meant to ask a couple questions about what you would like at the wedding without having Fred's input. I love my son, but his taste isn't quite what one should take into account at a wedding," she said. "Are you quite sure that the 12 is the date you want?"

"The 12 is perfectly fine," I replied. "Why?"

"July 12 seems like a day Fred would choose, and if Fred sets his mind to something, it's hard to change it. I can easily see him forcing that date on you for your marriage," she replied.

I smiled, amused by her answer. "Why exactly might July 12 be a date Fred would choose?" I asked her.

"He has some odd love for the number 12," Mrs. Weasley replied. "He always insisted that only the most special things had something to do with the number 12. A wedding is important, so I can see him wanting to be married on the 12. Are you sure it isn't too soon?"

"I don't really see a reason to put it off," I replied. "Fred's a good guy, and I don't think I'll be unhappy with him, so a couple weeks sooner won't be awful."

"You're right, dearie," Mrs. Weasley said. "And are you sure you want it here?"

"Of course," I replied immediately. "Since Bill and Fleur's wedding, I've thought that this is the most perfect place I have ever seen for a wedding."

"Thank you," Mrs. Weasley said, patting my cheek and smiling fondly. "What time of day would you prefer?"

"Time of day?" I repeated. "Oh… I hadn't thought about a time. I would prefer not to wake up before the sun rises to get ready so, unless Fred has other ideas, would noon or later be alright with you?"

"I know he'll be fine with that," Mrs. Weasley replied. "He hates waking up early."

"I can't imagine anyone enjoying being up early," I returned cheerfully.

"You're quite right about that," Mrs. Weasley said. As she said this, I heard a loud crack, followed by the door opening and Ginny marching inside with several heavy bags.

"Oh, 'lo, mum and Hermione," she said brightly, dropping the bags with a thud. "What are you two doing in here?"

"Just planning, Ginny dear," Mrs. Weasley replied cheerfully, walking over to give her daughter a hug.

"Planning?" Ginny questioned. "What are you planning?"

"The wedding, of course," Mrs. Weasley replied, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why are you planning my wedding?" Ginny asked, looking thoroughly confused at this point.

"Not your wedding dear, Hermione's wedding," Mrs. Weasley corrected. Comprehension dawned on Ginny's face and then she snapped her line of vision over to me.

"You were planning without me?" she said sharply, though not unkindly. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"Not much-" I began, but I was cut off by Ginny grabbing my wrist and dragging me out of the kitchen.

"Be careful with Hermione, dear. Her leg should be recovered by the wedding and I don't want you reinjuring and having her limp down the aisle!" Mrs. Weasley called after us. Ginny giggled and pulled me outside and out a bit to the small lake that was hidden from the view of the house by a large hill. She sat me down on a bench in front of it and proceeded to sit beside me, the small smile having turned into an enormous grin.

"Planning your wedding?" she said. "You can't plan a wedding without the groom, and if you were, you wouldn't be so chipper about it if you weren't on perfectly wonderful terms with him. Spit it out."

"What do you want me to spit out?" I asked.

"Come on, Hermione," Ginny said. "I know you two have been rocky since you told him about Alicia, we were talking about it just a couple days ago!"

"That was at least a week ago," I pointed out.

"Whatever," Ginny said, waving her hand dismissively. "Anyways, it can't have gone from what it was to you two being perfectly alright without something happening while I was out."

"Well, yeah," I admitted, "we talked."

"Finally!" Ginny said dramatically. "Did he come find you or did you find him? Or was it an accident?"

"He came here," I responded.

"Thank Merlin he's stopped being such a baby," Ginny said. "What happened?"

"We talked," I answered. "He apologized and such, then we just talked. We've known each other forever, so I suppose being able to talk to each other isn't that hard."

"You two have hardly had a civil conversation that lasted more than a minute before today," Ginny said. "How long was this conversation?"

"Uh…" I stared blankly at Ginny. "Don't know. I wasn't counting. Longer than a minute though."

"You're hopeless, Hermione," Ginny said, but she smiled. "I think there's hope for you and Fred yet! You'll probably be the cutest couple in the world, you know."

"Yeah right," I said, though I could feel my cheeks head up a bit as I blushed. I looked down, hoping she wouldn't notice. Thankfully, something else had caught her attention.

"What on earth-?" Ginny murmured as a large barn owl swooped down and landed between us. It looked at Ginny, ruffled its feathers, and turned to me, hooting quietly. Then it dropped a letter in my lap and fluttered off. "Who's it from?" Ginny asked interestedly.

I unfolded the parchment and glanced at the end. "Angelina," I replied.

_Hermione,_

_Just wondering if you'd like to come for dinner tonight? Would be you, me, George, and Fred. I'm cooking, so it won't be too awful. If yeah, be at the Fred and George's flat at 6. Love to have you here! Fred was going to ask you but he's too chicken. Just so you know you're marrying a coward (a sweet guy, but a coward)._

_Angelina_

"What does she want?" Ginny asked.

"Wanted to know if I'd like come for dinner with her and the twins," I replied.

"And you're going, right?" Ginny pressed.

"I don't know, your mum is expecting me for dinner-"

"She won't mind. Really!" Ginny pulled me to my feet. "It's already quarter 'til five. You're going there for dinner and you have to get ready. Come on!"

"But-"

"It'll be fun!" Ginny insisted, tugging on my arm as she led me back to the house. "Please? Go for me!"

"Alright, fine," I huffed, "but I am _not_ dressing fancy."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," Ginny said, though she was clearly not paying much attention to what I was saying. She hurried me up to our room and flung open the closet. "How about… this?" She pulled out a ridiculously short, bright red, very form fitted, strapless dress and flashed me a wicked grin.

"Are you kidding me?" I said disbelievingly. "Does your mother know that you own that?"

"Of course she doesn't," Ginny scoffed, "but Harry does, and he likes it."

"What boy wouldn't?" I teased. "It doesn't exactly leave much to the imagination, does it?"

"I'd be willing to bet my brother's would hate it on me," Ginny said, "but I think Fred would simply adore it if you wore it tonight…"

"No," I said firmly. "There is no way I am wearing that thing."

"Come on," Ginny said. "You'd look stunning!"

"This isn't a fancy event, and I already said I won't dress fancy," I said stubbornly. "How about jeans?"

"Shorts?" Ginny said hopefully. I rolled up one of my pajama legs and pointed at the long white scar on my leg.

"No one wants to see that," I said. "It's hideous."

"It isn't that bad," Ginny said, though I could tell she was shaken by the scar.

"I'm wearing jeans," I said with a sense of finality, pulling the pants leg down and standing up. I walked over to the dresser in which I kept the majority of my clothing and pulled out a pair of ripped jeans. Ginny gave them a funny look.

"If you're wearing jeans, don't wear those," she said.

"All my jeans are like this now," I informed her rather sadly.

"Ah. Well, I can fix that," she said, pulling out a pair that weren't ripped but that fit poorly and were an odd shade of blue. "Put them on," she ordered. I did what she said and frowned.

"These are the worst pair," I said.

"Just wait," Ginny said, pulling out her wand and waving it. The jeans shrunk to be rather tighter than I was accustomed to and lengthened slightly so they weren't too small. The color faded to a nicer shade of blue as well, and the ugly yellow stitching changed to a blue that was the same color as the jeans. "There," Ginny said, grinning.

"That was, I'll admit, impressive," I said, looking at myself in the mirror. "But aren't they a bit tight?"

"Sure aren't," Ginny replied. "Now, as for a shirt…" She moved back over to the closet and pulled out an off the shoulder red top that fit loosely.

"I guess it'll do," I said, taking it and putting it on. When I glanced in the mirror again, I frowned again. "My hair is a disaster."

"Easily fixed," Ginny said, waving her wands a few times. When she finished, it was significantly less puffy and the curls were more defined. I smiled.

"You're a life saver," I said, examining what I though was Ginny's finished product. When I turned to look at her, she was wielding mascara and eye liner.

"Not quite finished," she trilled, taking all of two minutes to apply what felt like a suffocating mask of goop onto my face.

"I feel disgusting," I informed her.

"You look great," she replied. "Look!"

I looked in the mirror and, to my surprise, saw that I actually did look alright. She had managed to make my dull brown eyes look a bit more interesting and bright, made my cheeks look less hollow, made my face actually look pretty. "Wow," I murmured. "You're brilliant, Gin."

"I know," Ginny said, twirling a lock of red hair between her fingers. "It comes naturally, you know. All this awesomeness – I was born this way!"

I rolled my eyes. "You are the most absurd girl I have ever met."

"That's why you love me!" she said, giving me a hug. "Now go have fun on your date. I'll cover for you tonight."

"It isn't a date," I said, frowning. "It's just me, Angie, Fred, and George having dinner."

"Practically a date," Ginny said. "Have fun!" I shook my head and smiled as she bustled me out of the room and downstairs to the fireplace. "It's 93 Diagon Alley." I took a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. I stepped in, feeling a lot more nervous that I would think a simple dinner with friends would make me, even if one of them was my fiancé, and the other two were soon to be my brother and sister in laws.

"93 Diagon Alley," I said, making sure my voice was steady. Ginny's face disappeared and I was spinning and squeezed uncomfortably. Then suddenly it stopped and I was standing in the fireplace in Fred and George's flat.

"Hermione! You made it!" Angelina said, jumping up from her seat on the sofa and hugging me. She stepped back again and looked at me. "You look nice tonight."

"Ginny got a hold of me," I said, grimacing. "If possible, I'd love to get this stuff off my face. Is there a bathroom?"

Angelina laughed. "You look great. Leave it on," she said. "Make up takes getting used to. You won't notice it by the end of the night."

"I think I'd prefer to just get it off," I responded.

"Alright," Angelina said. "It's just –"

"Hermione!" George walked into the living room, grinning broadly. "Wonderful to see you here. Angelina has been talking non-stop about how she hoped you'd come. I would've hated to see what would happen if you didn't. But you did, so all is well in the world." A loud crash came from the side of the flat he had just left. "Except for Fred, of course, but he's never been quite right, if you know what I mean. He's just being his normal idiotic self and breaking everything I own."

"Fred does have a habit of breaking your things," Angelina mused, smiling.

"And only my things," George added. "Never his things, never your things, never mum's things, never anyone's things but mine. Unless, of course, he is intentionally breaking something. Then anyone's stuff is in danger. He's a dangerous bloke."

"He's exactly like his twin brother, isn't he?" I said teasingly.

"Good point, Granger," George said. "Quite similar we are, though not exactly the same. Angelina could tell you that." He pulled her over to him and grinned.

"Shut up, George," Angelina said, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Aw, c'mon, Ange, you know it's true!" George said. "You've dated us both, and come to the conclusion that I'm a much better guy because you're marrying me and not him."

"It's not too late to change my mind," Angelina said. "I don't think the ministry would notice if Hermione and I switched grooms."

George looked dumbstruck by this suggestion. "You are far too smart," he said finally. "I would have never thought of that. Don't think Fred would be happy, though. I rather think he likes the idea of marrying Miss Granger."

"Fred certainly doesn't object to it," Angelina said.

"Fred certainly doesn't object to what?" asked Fred, entering the living room and carrying a bag of frozen broccoli.

"Nothing that concerns you," George said. "Or at least that we feel like disclosing."

"Nice of you to finally join us," Angelina said sarcastically. "One would think that you would be here to greet your fiancé first rather than last."

"I was busy with dinner," Fred retorted with a childish pout.

"You messed with dinner?" Angelina said, looking panicked as she pulled herself away from George and ran out of the room. Fred guffawed, shaking his head.

"I actually didn't touch her dinner, but I did drop the toaster," Fred informed them. George shook his head and chuckled.

"Didn't I tell you he breaks all of my things?" George said to me.

"Isn't the toaster shared?" I asked.

"Was, but we decided earlier that I got the toaster after the whole marriage shenanigan," George replied. "I ought to go and help Angelina calm down before she explodes and destroys her own dinner." He walked out leaving me with Fred.

"You look brilliant," Fred said.

"Thanks," I said, "but I feel like a walking cake with all the junk on my face: so much frosting that it exceeds good and becomes disgusting."

Fred laughed. "Well, I'd say you're one of the most attractive cakes I've seen," he replied.

"Thank you," I said, feeling my cheeks redden a bit.

"Oi, you two want dinner or not?" Angelina said, looking in at us. "Unless you'd prefer George and I eat it all, you should move quickly."

"That was one of the best dinners I have ever had," I said as sat contentedly on the sofa. Angelina chuckled.

"That was one of Molly's recipes," she replied.

"But that doesn't necessarily mean it would be made well. This one was most exquisitely made," George said from beside Angelina. She smiled up and him and he back at her, the love they had for each other showing in their bright eyes. I sighed, wishing that I was marrying someone that I loved as much as they loved each other. I brushed the thought away, telling myself I was lucky to have someone that I at least knew and liked because of this law. Fred suddenly dropped into the seat beside me, jostling the sofa as he did so a bit so that I let out a small squeak of surprise as I slid from my position to be face down in the cushion. Angelina and George laughed, but, to my surprise, Fred didn't. Instead, he lifted me up again and sat me back upright in the same way I had been, save that I was closer to him. He smiled crookedly, a questioning look on his face, as if he were asking if what he had done was alright. I smiled back and his odd look was exchanged for a broad smile.

"Anyone up for a game?" Angelina asked. An expression, much like a five year old's on Christmas morning, lit George's face.

"Well, duh!" he said happily.

"How about you two?" Angelina asked, eying Fred and me.

"Sure," I said.

"When am I not up for a game?" Fred replied.

"Great," Angelina said. "I was thinking maybe we could try one of these Muggle games that my mum gave me forever ago. She was bored and bought a bunch but couldn't figure them out and gave them to me. I never really got around to playing them, but since Hermione's here and could show us…"

"Which ones do you have?" I asked excitedly.

"Just a sec," Angelina said, jumping up and running down the hall. She returned a moment later with several boxes, which she dropped in the middle of the group. "Snakes and Ladders, er, 'Dog-opoly' or something, Rummikub…"

"Snakes and Ladders is pretty easy, but Dog-opoly, which is a version of the normal Monopoly, is my favorite," I said.

"Let's play both," George said. "It's not like we have a time constraint here."

"If we're doing that, I would suggest Snakes and Ladders first," I said.

"Snakes and Ladders it is," said Angelina cheerfully, pulling the box towards her and getting the board out.

"Ha! Pay up, George!" I cried, holding a hand out for George's money.

"This isn't fair," George whined, handing over a large stack of colorful bills. "I've landed on the Great Dane every time I have been around the board, and I still have to pay you."

"Yupp," I said, grinning at him. "Your bad luck is the reason I will win this game!"

"I give up," George said, flopping backwards. "There is no hope for me. I will never win dog-opolis."

"Aw, poor Georgie's a bit of a sore loser," cooed Angelina. "Poor baby doesn't even know the name of the game that he's losing!"

Fred, Angelina, and I cracked up. George continued to fake pout for a minute or so before laughing as well. When we finally calmed down, Angelina glanced up at the clock on the wall (a clock which, by chance, happened to be magenta and canary yellow), and exclaimed, "Merlin, it's already one thirty!"

"It's one thirty?" I squeaked in surprise.

"Is that a problem?" Angelina asked. "Did you have plans for tonight? Didn't even think of that, sorry, Hermione!"

"No, of course I don't have plans, what do you take me for, an elite socialite?" I said sarcastically, a faint smile tugging on my lips.

"That is exactly what I took you for," Angelina said, a smile quirking her own lips upwards. "It isn't like your famous or anything, being best friends with the boy-who-lived and all."

"I just thought I should tell you that I renamed him," George interjected. A minute of silence followed his announcement. "What?" he said.

"Aren't you going to tell us what this name is?" Angelina teased.

"Oh, yeah," George said, winking at her. "The boy-who-can't-die. Or the boy-who-just-can't-seem-to-not-live-and-yet-is-a-socially-inept-oddball." This promptly sent us all back into loud laughter and took much longer than the first time to recover from.

"Hermione, did you have somewhere to be? You seemed worried about the time a few minutes ago," Angelina asked.

"Er, no, I was just a bit worried about overstaying my welcome," I replied a bit nervously.

"Impossible," Fred said. "Seeing as you'll be married to me in a month's time and, by extension, closer than family with George and Angelina as well, you can't stay too long. This is your home as much as ours, 'Mione." I glanced at him, about to correct him and say my proper name was 'Hermione' rather than 'Mione, but stopped myself. For some reason, it didn't sound as terrible coming from him as it did from anyone else who had nicknamed me. From him it was endearing rather than teasing or spiteful.

"Thanks," I said quietly.

"It's the truth," he said.

"Well, I think I'll head off for now," Angelina said. "I have work tomorrow and I don't want to fall asleep. I'll be seeing you all later." She gave George a peck on the lips, then gave Fred and I both hugs before tossing a handful of floo powder into the fire, stepping in, and spinning away. George stood up, grinning.

"I think I may go to bed, too," he said. "Goodnight!" He winked at us, causing me to blush scarlet, and walked off, leaving Fred and I alone.

"Er, I can leave if you like," I said. "I mean, you have to get up for work, too."

"You don't have to," Fred said quickly. "I mean, whatever you'd like."

"I think I should go probably," I said, "but, um, could I maybe see you again soon?" When he didn't reply for a moment, I cursed myself internally for asking him – he had only just accepted the marriage thing, this was pushing it I was sure. But then he smiled.

"That would be great," he said. "I'll owl you, yeah?"

"Yeah," I repeated nervously, smiling back. I walked over to the door, intending to apparate rather than floo so as not to wake up anyone at the Burrow. As I reached the door, however, Fred stopped me and pulled me to face him. He gave me a hug then a quick kiss on the cheek.

"See you later, Hermione," he said.

"See you, Fred," I said quietly, walking out rather dazedly to the street.

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! I've been almost constantly on vacation, working, at lessons, or doing other crazy busy stuff. Can you forgive me please?**

**Thank you so much to those who reviewed: Gingiie666, 93 Diagon Alley, Elma Trisara, Nao K. Kawasaki, Nissy Padfoot, iLoveRomance2o11, Ethera, narniaandharrypotter4ever, The-Delectable-May-Reach, and Emma Blainey. **

**Also, thanks to all those who favorited and followed! I hope this doesn't disappoint..**

**To Ethera: I understand what you mean by that. I don't plan on leaving Ron like this, it's just how I pictured him reacting. He'll be fixed, though! **

**To The-Delectable-May-Reach: Hurrah for Mormons! I always get super excited when I find/meet/see other Mormons on this site… you're no exception :)**

**Review please? Mayhaps it'll help me to write more quickly? Heh.**

**-Naomi**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter. Meh.**

I apparated back to the Burrow, landing right outside the front door and quietly slipping inside. I tiptoed upstairs to the room I shared with Ginny and pushed the door open, praying that it didn't squeak like it normally did. Unfortunately for me, it did squeak rather loudly. I heard rustling, then Ginny's voice saying, "Hermione? Is that you?"

"Yeah, sorry for waking you up," I apologized in a whisper, entering the room and shutting the door behind me. I pulled out her wand and cast a cleaning charm on my face, grinning in the darkness as I felt the make-up vanish. I wasn't exactly sure why I hadn't thought to do that earlier, but was quite glad of the escape the spell provided now.

"I wasn't asleep," Ginny replied, not bothering to whisper. I hushed her, saying she would wake up the rest of her family, but Ginny just laughed. "Have you met my family, Hermione? They sleep through anything. The world could be ending and they wouldn't wake up," she said.

"Just the same," I said quietly, pointing my wand at the door and murmuring a quick silencing spell over the room, "better safe than sorry."

"There's that cautious Hermione I knew was in there," Ginny teased. "You've been acting so strange I thought someone might have used some sort of switching spell on you."

"That makes me feel great," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. I grabbed my pyjamas off my bed and changed quickly, flopping onto my bed with a sigh. "Was your mum upset that I missed dinner?"

"Not when I told her you had gone over to hang out with the twins," Ginny said. "She looked nearly faint with excitement. Ron wasn't too happy, though. His face turned purple again and he didn't speak for the rest of dinner. Typical Ron, you know, just being a prat."

"Yeah, I suppose," I said quietly.

"Have you talked with him?" Ginny asked.

"No," I answered, "and I don't think he has any intention of speaking with me any time soon, which is quite alright."

"No, it isn't," Ginny said. "You two are best friends and you shouldn't ignore each other like this."

"I know, it's just… for so long, I thought it would be me and him. Now it isn't, and I just don't… don't know. We obviously can't be together because of this law, but he doesn't seem to upset. Initially, maybe, but now he and Luna are planning and getting along perfectly well," I said. "I should be happy for them, but I'm not. I feel awful for breaking up Fred and Alicia, even if she was a horrid old cow, and I feel terrible for being so downcast about my best mate's wedding. I'm just messing everything up."

"You aren't messing everything up," Ginny said. "Ron's upset as well, he's just coping differently, and his method is ignoring things which, in my opinion, is immature and won't get things done, but it's how he deals. He'll get over it and you two can be best friends again."

"You're right," I said, sighing again, "as always." Ginny laughed a bit.

"That's me, you know," she said. "Always right!"

"You know, you may be confusing yourself with me," I said in a surprisingly serious tone, but I didn't keep it for long. Ginny burst into laughter and I was unable to restrain myself. Soon, both of us were rolling around on our beds, clutching our sides as we gasped for breath between our laughs. When we stopped laughing, we both lay in on our beds in silence. Of course, it didn't last long, but silences rarely did when Ginny was around.

"How did your date go?" Ginny asked. I could easily tell that this was what Ginny had been waiting to ask the entire time and she was excited to hear what I had to say.

"It wasn't a date, Gin," I said, smiling in spite of myself. "And it went well."

"Tell me everything!" Ginny said. I laughed when she hear the springs on Ginny's bed squeaking as the eager redhead bounced about. I recounted the night, pausing to allow Ginny to press for more detail and, at the end, allowing my friend to squeal with excitement and bounce on her bed. I laughed at Ginny's antics and allowed my mind to wander back to earlier that night. As I did so, I absentmindedly lifted a hand to touch the place on her cheek where Fred had kissed me, a dreamy smile gracing my features. I let out a quiet sigh before realizing how silly I was being.

"Snap out of it," I muttered, shaking my head and wiping the smile off of my face. I didn't enjoy it. No, I couldn't enjoy it. I liked Ron, didn't I? Not Fred. No, I couldn't like Fred in the slightest.

"Hermione? You okay over there?" Ginny asked, bringing me out of her reverie.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," I replied quickly, making my voice sound chipper.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now," Ginny announced. "Can you take the silencing charm off? And the lock charm off as well? I don't want mum to notice in the morning and get angry because she thinks Harry snuck in."

"Why might she think that? Something you're not telling me, Gin?" I said.

"What? Uh, no! Of course there isn't!" Ginny spluttered. I laughed.

"I was kidding," I informed her, "but I'm not so sure I should be anymore. Is there a reason your mum might think Harry's been sneaking in?"

"Er, I'm going to bed," Ginny repeated, "so, night!" I shook my head, laying down and drifting off into a peaceful sleep – but not before removing the charms.

I awoke the next morning to find I was quite alone in the bedroom. Glancing at the clock, I figured out why – it was nearly noon. Surprised by how long I had slept, I stood up and stumbled awkwardly around, seeing as my still somewhat useless leg was having a hard time waking up. When I finally regained enough feeling to walk without lurching like a zombie, I traveled downstairs to the kitchen. Molly was slaving over a plate of sandwiches and, to her surprise, Ron sat at the table looking complacent. I froze, not entirely sure how to react. He seemed at a loss as well, because he just stared at me, looking confused.

"Oh! Hermione, you're awake," Molly exclaimed, beaming at me. "Are you hungry? You must be. I'll bring these out to the others and then I'll make you something. Why don't you sit down?" She then grabbed the plate and ran outside to where, I assumed, the others must be. I sat down several seats down from Ron, not wanting to make it more awkward by making it obvious I was sitting as far as possible, but not wanting to purposefully sit close to him.

"Hermione?" I bit her lip and looked at him. Rather than looking accusing, angry, or simply apathetic like he recently had, he looked apologetic and concerned. My apprehension faded slightly as I watched his expression with an analytical eye.

"Yeah, Ron?" I replied quietly.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I've been a prat."

"Just a little," I said, smiling hesitantly. He returned the gesture with equal nervousness. This seemed to boost my confidence in the situation and my smile broadened. "It's not all your fault. I've been a bit off recently, too."

"Nah," Ron said, shaking his head. "Ever since the law was passed, I've been acting terribly. I thought that since so many people were happy, I would get the match I wanted, too. Granted, I wasn't thinking straight since George proposed before the law, Percy works for the Ministry so he probably forced them into giving him a match he liked, and Harry's the saviour of the world, so they sort of have to give him what he wants. But when I got Luna, I was angry, because I was supposed to be with you, not her. Then you were matched to Fred, and I couldn't believe it. He got you, and I was stuck with someone else. My own brother. But for some reason, I just sort of… clammed up, you know? I figured if that's how it would be, I'd just ignore you both." He sighed, looking miserable. "I started going out with Luna out of necessity, but also to get away from you. It hurt too much, and I didn't want to cope. But Luna seemed to figure out what was going on – she's brilliant you know. Not as smart as you, but still brilliant. She told me I was being stupid, just like that. I was upset with her after that as well, but she was right. I've been a git. So… here I am," he finished rather lamely. An awkward silence filled the room, and then I threw herself at Ron, hugging him tightly. Taken aback, Ron did nothing at first. Then, cautiously, he hugged I back. "Does this mean you forgive me and will be my friend again?" he asked.

"Of course," I said, laughing through the couple tears sliding down my face. When Molly returned from delivering the sandwiches (having taken her time doing so), she found me and Ron chattering away as though the friendship had never been broken. I caught the quick smile that stole across her face, knowing that she knew that we couldn't stay angry at each other for too long.

"Can I get you something to eat now?" Molly asked, hurrying in as though she hadn't been manipulating the situation – because it was, if I thought about it, not like Ron to sit inside with his mum while everyone else played Quidditch. She bustled about, trying rather unsuccessfully to hide her satisfied smile, but found it quite impossible. As long as the many weddings went smoothly, everything would be perfect.

**A/N: It's a rather short chapter, but I promise to be updating soon and more regularly. Seriously. I SWEAR I WILL. But… review will help me move even more quickly… heehee**

**PumpkinHallow4814 – Thanks!**

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**LuLu – Haha, thanks! And I'm sorry, but I don't write smut… sorry :(**

**iLoveRomance2o11 – Thanks :) I think he's pretty adorable too ;)**

**The-Delectable-May-Reach – I didn't even realize they had the Book of Mormon on here! What? I can see how some of those would be ridiculously offensive. And I'll try to work on those things – I focused on that at the beginning… then sort of forgot… and I will try to be better for chapter 7**

**Guest – I quite agree :) and thanks!**

**Narniaandharrypotter4ever – fast enough? Heh. Faster than lately, I'd say haha.**

**Gingiie666 – I enjoy writing about Ginny having random girly moments. I feel like she's all tough and cool most of the time, then randomly girly-ish. You know?**

**Articcat621 – Thanks!**

**Vampire-Blackrose – haha, I get awkward like that all the time so don't worry about it!**

**93 Diagon Alley – I did a little dance when I got those five points. Just so you know :)**

**I shall see you all soon. Ish.**

**-Naomi**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Believe it or not, I haven't gained ownership of Harry Potter since my last posted chapter. Surprised? I'm not.**

"HERMIONE!" screamed Ginny, running inside, looking disheveled and distinctly crazy, her eyes glinting wildly. She was spattered with mud and her hair stuck up rather unnaturally, with only enhanced the look of insanity that was displayed on her face. "I just realized something very important!" she cried. I looked at my lunch, which I currently thought was very important, and probably a more pressing matter than whatever Ginny was fretting over. A second look at Ginny convinced me I was incorrect, though, and I put my sandwich down.

"What's wrong, Ginny?" I asked cautiously, not entirely sure I wanted to know what had put the girl in such a state.

"I'm getting married in twelve days and I don't have a dress, and neither do you!" Ginny exclaimed anxiously.

"I'm not getting married for a week and a half after you," I pointed out, but Ginny was obviously having none of it.

"If you want the dress by then, we'll have to get it now," she said, "because today is the day we're going shopping and I sure don't want to have to go again. Plus, I need to get your maid of honor dress, and Luna wanted you to be one of her bridesmaids and she's going today and her wedding is in nine days so let's _go_!" I suppressed a laugh, knowing it would only make Ginny more exasperated with the situation, and complied, standing up. "That and we have an appointment."

"Fine," I said. "But you should really clean up first."

Ginny looked down and made a face. Then she whipped out her wand, muttered several charms, and the dirt fell away into a little pile on the floor. Then she straightened her clothes, cast another charm at her hair that arranged it neatly around her face, and looked at me once more. "Happy?" she said. I nodded and she grabbed my arm, saying, "Then let's go!" She apparated us away from the Burrow and my unfinished lunch, reappearing outside of Madam Malkin's. She dragged me inside, shoving several witches out of the way as she headed to the counter. A very drawn Madam Malkin was waiting on about five customers at once, looking panicked. She noticed Ginny and I with a little gasp and hurried from the others over.

"Can I help you two?" she asked, her voice strained.

"We're here to look at wedding dresses and other formal dresses," Ginny said. "We're meeting Luna Lovegood."

"Yes, she's in the back," Madam Malkin said, nodding. "I'll take you there." She led us back, ignoring the angry cries of the women at the counter. She pushed open a door that led to a much more sedate room, filled with white dresses on one side and all sorts of dresses on the other. "This is the private fitting room," she said. "I believe you should be able to find anything you'll want, but if you don't, I'll be at the counter." She turned to leave, shutting the door firmly behind her.

"Remind me again why we're getting married?" I muttered, looking with distaste at the enormous puffy dresses I was supposed to be trying on.

"It's the law, Hermione," Ginny said, already rifling through a rack of silk and tulle dresses. "Ugh, tulle is hideous," she moaned, throwing the rack at the wall.

"Hello," Luna said, walking forward. "I was wondering when you would get here."

"We were a bit distracted this morning," Ginny said, looking at more dresses. "It's been a bit crazy, you know."

"Yes, I understand," Luna said. "When is Audrey coming?"

"She can't make it today, but I'm getting her dress anyway," Ginny said.

"Audrey?" I questioned.

"She's one of my bridesmaids," Ginny replied. "She's needs a wedding dress as well. I mean, she's going to be my sister in law, she's a great person, and I figured I should have at least two bridesmaids to go with my maid of honor, you know?"

"Who are your bridesmaids?" Luna asked.

"I… well, I don't know," I said, blushing. "I know Ginny's my maid of honor, but Fred and I haven't really talked much yet."

"How do you not know?" Ginny cried. "They have to be here! Merlin, Hermione. Well, there's me. George will be Fred's best man. Who do you want as bridesmaids?"

"Well…" I felt as though I was shrinking under the two younger girls' gazes. "Luna, will you be one?"

"Of course," she replied, smiling.

"And maybe Angelina," I replied.

"Go floo her," Ginny said, pointing at the fireplace. I nodded and went over, tossing the floo powder in and saying her address, praying she was home. My head popped into an unfamiliar flat, and I heard footsteps somewhere.

"Angelina? Are you home?" I called. Angelina came walking in, looking very confused.

"Hermione?" she said. "What's up?"

"Er, I was wondering if you'd like to be one of my bridesmaids?" I asked awkwardly, not entirely sure what to say.

"Really?" Angelina said, grinning. "I'd love to."

"Great," I said, feeling relieved. "Is there any way you can come to Madam Malkin's now for dress fitting?"

"Now?" Angelina said in surprise. "I suppose, yeah, sure. I'll be there in five."

"Thanks," I said. "Sorry about asking all at once. I hadn't decided and they brought me to look at dresses and made me choose and all –"

"It's fine, Hermione, I'll be there in a few minutes," Angelina said, smiling. "Go look at some dresses until I get there!"

"See you soon," I said, pulling my head from the fireplace and looking around the fitting room. "I hate using the floo that way," I informed them, standing up.

"Why don't you choose bridesmaids dresses now," Ginny suggested, "so Angelina can try it on when she gets here?"

"I don't know what colors," I said dully.

"You don't know anything!" Ginny exclaimed. "Pick two colors you and Fred will agree on, owl him to see if they're okay, and be done with it. That, or run down the alley, talk to him, and come back."

"Owling takes too long," Luna said. "You should run."

"We'll tell Angelina where you are," Ginny said. "Hurry!"

Sighing, I left the shop and ran down the street, ignoring the pain in my leg, until I reached the shop, out of breath and my leg throbbing. I hobbled inside, looking for Fred. I caught sight of him by the counter and approached him.

"Hermione!" he said.

"Hi, Fred," I said, blushing slightly. "Er, I know this is probably a bad time, but Ginny's forcing me to get dresses today for the wedding and we need to know colors and all… so can we choose those now?"

"Oh yeah, sure, of course," Fred stammered. "Er… well, you already said no to magenta and yellow."

"Together, yes. Individually, they're fine," I corrected.

"Really?" Fred said, looking surprised by this.

"Yes," I confirmed. "I was thinking that maybe we could use one bright color that you like and one more… subdued color that I like."

"Alright," he said, nodding. "Orange, magenta, red, yellow, bright green, anything good yet?"

"I can imagine green would look nice on Ginny," I said, "and she's my maid of honor. A bright, spring green," I said, thinking back to the fabric I had seen when I had visited the shop with Angelina several weeks previous.

"That would be nice," Fred said. "Green and… gold?"

I looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, considering this option. Both could be considered loud colors, but also could be less flashy if worked to be so. I nodded. "I think green and gold would be lovely," I answered. He grinned.

"Then there you go," he said. I turned to leave, but he called, "Wait, 'Mione!" I turned around, and saw him looking a bit sheepish. "Er… oh, who are your bridesmaids?"

"Ginny's my maid of honor," I said, "with Luna and Angelina as the bridesmaids." An odd expression flew across his features, so I frowned, saying, "Unless, of course, you don't want one of them to be part of the wedding party, then I can change it. I was thinking George would be your best man, right?"

"Yeah," Fred answered. "And no, I don't see anything wrong with those people."

"Alright," I said. "I guess I'll see you later then."

"Yeah." I turned to leave again, but he said, "Wait!" I turned around, smiling slightly.

"Yes?"

"Would… well, would you like to go to dinner tomorrow night?" he asked. I raised my eyebrows, and he amended, "To get to know each other and plan the wedding, you know. I mean, we have to get married in a couple weeks and I thought –"

I cut him off by placing a swift kiss on his lips. "I'd love to," I said. "Pick me up at six?"

He stared dumbly at me, nodding slightly. I smiled and hurried from the shop before he could stop me. My leg was hurting dreadfully at this point, but I didn't really want to stop and risk him coming out to ask why I'd done that. Truthfully, I wasn't sure. One moment, I was listening to him, the next I had kissed him. "It's natural," I muttered to myself. "We're getting married, we have to get used to it at some point…"

When I reentered the shop, it seemed even more busy than before, I had to duck beneath the swinging bags and jabbing wands to run to the back, where I ducked into the room and shut the door, feeling slightly panicked by the crowd. Ginny smirked at me.

"You look interesting," she commented. I glanced in the mirror and saw that my hair was in a worse state than Ginny's had been earlier that day and my face was bright red.

"Oh," I said, trying to straighten myself out with very little luck. Angelina stopped me, saying,

"You look fine, let's look at these dresses." I smiled and approached the bridesmaid and maid of honor section of clothes.

"The colors are green and gold," I announced. "I was thinking maybe putting Ginny in green and you two in gold, if that's alright with you two."

Angelina and Luna agreed, while Ginny did a little dance, exclaiming, "I can actually wear green!"

We spent the next half hour or so looking through the clothes until I came across a dress made of the spring green fabric. It was sleeveless, with a flowing pleated skirt, embroidered with gold thread at the bottom and along the top. A gold ribbon tied around the waist. It reminded me of a spring fairy dress of sorts and I smiled. "What do you think of this?" I asked, holding it up.

"That's for me, right?" Ginny said, hurrying over and grabbing the dress. "I hope so, because I refuse to wear anything else but this to your wedding." I laughed.

"Yeah, that would be for you," I said. Ginny squealed and ran into the changing room. She emerged a minute later, beaming and twirling.

"It's a beautiful dress, Ginny," Angelina complimented.

"Please say this is the one you're choosing," Ginny begged me.

"As if I'd look at any others after this one," I joked. She jumped up and down excitedly, returning to change out of it. I found two identical dark gold dresses with a similar cut to the green dress, though without the ribbon and embroidery. It looked perfect on both Luna and Angelina, so they went into the "to-buy" stack. Luna found bright yellow dresses for Ginny and I. Though on the rack they were quite appalling, once on, they weren't as bad. Ginny only slightly resembled a fiery inferno, and I didn't look nearly as much like a giant chick as I imagined I would. Ginny found her bridesmaids' dresses fairly quickly as well, so we moved on to the somewhat more taxing task of choosing the actual wedding dress.

"This one is nice," Angelina said, pulling out a blindingly white dress with an embroidered bodice and enormous princess skirt. "Ish," she added, looking at the ridiculously sized bottom.

"Oh, this one is lovely," cooed Luna, looking at a slightly off white dress, covered in elegant lace. The skirt was very full and seemed as though it might swallow the girl, but Luna seemed determined to try it on. She walked to a changing room and emerged a couple minutes later. Though the skirt was still a bit too large for my liking, Luna had, once again, chosen a dress that looked much better on than off. The slightly darker color gave Luna's pale skin a warmer look and made her seem ineffably beautiful. I huffed quietly in annoyance, put off by how nice she looked in her dress, and how silly I was sure to look in comparison.

"You should definitely buy that one," Ginny said. "It's amazing!"

"It's very pretty," Angelina offered.

"Stunning," I managed before turning to look through the dresses again. I hoped Luna wasn't offended by my lack of response, but the dress trip was putting me in an unhappy mood, and I wanted to be gone as soon as I could. A few minutes later, Ginny was squealing.

"This one!" she cried, pulling a dress off the rack and bringing it to me. "What do you think?"

"Try it on," I said, smiling despite myself as Ginny ran off to try it on. When she came out, she looked happier than I had ever seen her. The simple line of the pure white, strapless dress, covered with glittering beads and a sheer draping over the skirt made her look like nothing short of an angel. I grinned at her.

"How do you like it?" she asked, spinning around.

"It gorgeous, Gin," I said. "I love it, and Harry's going to simply adore it."

"What about you two?" she asked the other two anxiously.

"It's one of the most beautiful dresses I've ever seen," Angelina said enviously.

"It's lovely," Luna said, smiling kindly.

"I think I'll buy it," Ginny said firmly. "I'm so excited now!" Then she skipped off into the changing room, looking very odd as she did so in the elegant dress, to change into her normal clothes. I returned to the rack, looking at one dress after another, unable to find anything I liked. Until I found it.

It could have been strapless, except for the tiny, sheer lace cap sleeves. The bodice flowed smoothly into the skirt, a line of embroidery, beading and lace running from the top to the bottom. The bodice had a bit of elegant lace, accented with beading. It was pure white, though not as blinding as some of the others. It was perfect.

"Wow," Angelina said, looking at the dress. "You're trying that on, right?"

"Maybe," I said hesitantly. "I don't know if it'll look good."

"Are you kidding me, Hermione?" Ginny said, giving me a look as though I was stupid. "That dress is going to look stellar on you. Go put it on."

"Are you two absolutely sure?" I said, fingering the sleeve.

"Yes," Ginny said, "now take the dress and go!"

I smiled and took the dress, getting it halfway on before realizing I didn't know how I was going to lace up the back. I tried to twist around and get to it, but was unsuccessful. "Er, how do I get it on?" I asked.

"Are you a witch?" Ginny asked sarcastically.

"Oh yeah," I said, blushing, grateful they couldn't see me. I grabbed my wand and muttered a spell which laced the back for me. Then I stepped out.

"Oh Merlin," Ginny murmured.

"It's perfect!" Angelina said excitedly.

"It's a wonderful dress," Luna said.

"If you don't buy it, I'll murder you," Ginny said, "and I am not joking about that."

"Does it really look good?" I asked, furrowing my brow and glancing downwards.

"Look in the mirror, Hermione," Ginny commanded. I looked over and found myself very confused. Looking back at me was someone I didn't know, though she was wearing the same dress as I. Her skin seemed to glow and was smooth as porcelain. Her eyes, rather than dull brown like mine, were lighter, like caramel, and full of some sort of light. Her hair even seemed tame.

"That's not me," I muttered, pointing at the mirror. "It's rigged."

"That is you," Ginny insisted. "It's stunning, and if you don't buy it, I will, and I'll force you to wear it." I smiled. "Plus, Fred won't know what hit him. He'll be drooling, most likely. I promise I'll glue his mouth shut 'til he gets a hold of himself."

"You think?" I said, biting my lip.

"He'll probably profess his undying love for you before the ceremony's over," Ginny joked.

"I suppose I'll have to buy it then," I answered. Ginny let out a shriek of happiness and tackled me in an excited hug. I changed, then we all paid for our dresses and left, feeling distinctly happy and more excited for the wedding than I had previously been.

**A/N: Huzzah. I'm really trying to post more often… I joined a WIP challenge to keep myself moving. Heehee. So here's another one. It's only about shopping, but they needed dresses and I had fun writing. So… yeah!**

**I just realized that, for some reason unknown to myself, I wrote chapter six in third person. I'm grateful no one pointed that out. That would make me even more awkward. Heh. It's fixed now, so you don't have to go and look at my awful-ness.**

**On that note, is there anyone who is simply amazing at beta reading? Or who knows an amazing beta reader who is looking for things to read? I think it's about time I found someone to fix my ever present errors. **

**Antisocialcrab – Yeah, I will be having Fred POV chapters. They'll be along soon, so no worries on that :) and thanks!**

**Daughter of Hades 14 – Yes, weddings are super soon!**

**Also, thanks to Wskykitty74, Computergeek, Weecazza89, Narniaandharrypotter4ever, Alakazambo, PumpkinHallow4814, iLoveRomance2o11, The-Delectable-May-Reach, Undertheimpression, Spinning Round On A Carousel, Gingiie666 , antisocialcrab, and Daughter of Hades 14 for reviewing! The number of emails I get every day saying I got review/favorites/follows on the story or author alert/favorites is increasing… and it makes me incredibly happy! Thank you guys soooo much!**

**Now, if anyone feels like being an amazingly AWESOME person… my oneshot, Cookies for Equality, is an entry in the August Twin Exchange challenge. Currently, there is a poll where people can vote for their favorite entry. It's my first time entering and it would soooo super amazing to win… Would anyone be willing to go vote for it? If so, go here: topic/43642/7817202/1/**

**Thank you so much to everyone for reading and reviewing! You're the best people an author could wish to have supporting them!**

**-Naomi**


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